Good Morning Friends,
“He himself is our peace, who has made the two
one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by
which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who
were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have
access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14-18)
Where can we find peace? Paul’s answer: only in
Jesus.
The history of the Jews and Arabs is a history
of conflict, distrust and hatred. It went on for thousands of years and
continues to afflict the Middle East today. Noble Peace Prizes have been
awarded for the progress that has been made between Jews and Arabs in some seasons.
Yet conflict continues and every peace process that has been initiated has
ultimately failed to produce the desired effect.
Peace between Jew and Gentile does not come and
will not come through human efforts. Peace can only come through Jesus! You see
that peace in the church of the New Testament era. Jews and Arabs were united
in the one body of Christ. Their distrust was dissolved as those who came to
Christ gave themselves to a common cause. The hatred was replaced by love for
God and love for one another. The division was ended and peace prevailed.
The one place you can see that same kind of
peace today between Jews and Arabs, even in Israel, is still in the church. Long-standing
ethnic division disappears when Jesus is Lord in the lives of those involved.
That same principle is valid in families,
between genders, among races, between nationalities, and in whatever other
kinds of divisions exist among humans.
Division dissolves when those involved embrace
a common Lord and commit themselves to His will.
There is only one way to peace, and that’s when
those in conflict move toward Jesus. The closer we move toward Jesus, the
closer we also move toward one another.
His, by Grace,
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment