Breaking Down the Walls
By
Elin Henderson
“For He Himself is our peace, who
has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation”
Ephesians 2:14 (NKJV)
If you have ever traveled into many
parts of the developing world, you will have noticed something there that we
don’t see in most of our neighborhoods…WALLS. Whether it is South America or
Africa, most of the homes are built with walls around them for security
purposes. And as if walls weren’t enough, there is usually some form of razor
wire, broken bottles or the like placed on top to further deter would-be
thieves. It is just a fact of life for those who live in places like that.
Let’s face it, in our country, while
people may not have literal walls of concrete surrounding their homes, they
often put up some serious barricades and walls surrounding their hearts and
lives. Their yards might be open, but their hearts are a virtually impenetrable
Fort Knox. Breaking through that will take more than a wrecking ball and some
wire cutters.
There is only One, the ultimate
Wall-Breaker, who can successfully penetrate these hardened places. And, what
tool did/does He use? It wasn’t a sledge hammer, a wrecking ball or wire
cutters, but rather a cross. It was through His sacrifice that He broke down
the middle wall separating us, first and foremost, from God...but also walls
that divide His people. It will only be through the cross of sacrifice that we too
will be able to break down the walls that we so often encounter.
The cross wasn’t easy. It wasn’t
comfortable. It implies sacrifice and death. What does that mean for us? This
job of wall-breaking will not be a simple one. It will take time and much
sacrifice from our parts. We must count the cost and ask ourselves, are we
willing?
Let’s pick up our one and only tool
- - the cross of sacrifice - - and head out into this wall-strewn world,
looking to our Leader, the ultimate Wall-Breaker, and trusting Him to bring
peace and life to those we encounter.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Think of those around you, your
neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc… What kind of walls do they have in place?
2.
How can you wield the cross of
sacrifice to help those walls come down, including those within the Christ’s
Church?
3.
How about in your life? Can you
identify any walls that you might have in place that need to come down?
FURTHER
READING:
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin
Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters
with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa.
Elin is mother to sixteen-year-old Callie and fourteen-year-old Elias.
