“For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14)

The gospel has implications. We should expect that it would, but we are a stubborn people, set in our ways, molded by our upbringing and influenced by our surroundings. It has always been that way. Acts 11:1-18 tells the story of when the apostle Peter defended his acceptance of the Gentiles. The Jews and Gentiles had long been at odds and some of his fellow Jews found it repulsive that Peter would associate with them. They had put up walls between themselves and the Gentiles, believing Gentiles must follow Jewish traditions to be accepted. We know the dislike went both ways. The Bible expresses clearly the unity that exist in Christ. Ephesians 2:14-16 makes the point that in Christ, the Jews and Gentiles are no longer two distinct people, but one.

Our encounter with Scripture should always lead to application in our lives. We must see the walls (the barriers) that exist in our day to day lives as it relates to others who are different than we are. One of those areas is undoubtedly race. It’s hard to deny the racial divide that exists in our nation. The truth is, to some degree prejudice exists in us all. Unfortunately, there are people on all sides who propagate it for both personal and political gain, making it even worse. Fortunately though, we have a God who is not like us. When God looks at us, He doesn’t see color, He sees people, people created in His image, people tainted by sin, and people equally in need of His mercy and grace. God accepts all who come in faith. Salvation is for anyone who believes in the name of Jesus. We would not only do well to see others as Christ sees them, but we would honor God in doing so, while at the same time, give testimony to His work in our lives.

Let us ask the Lord to tear down the walls of prejudice in our own lives. The simple truth is, the more we see of Jesus, the less we’ll see of color, and for that matter, any other thing that makes us different. In Christ we are one! Let our relationship with Jesus be the one that unites us. Let His voice drown out the voices of division, no matter where they come from. Let our lives be challenged by the gospel, and let our hearts be open to His refining work. We might not readily recognize it as such, but part of God’s grace is the Holy Spirit confronting us in the deepest recesses of our hearts and shining the light that exposes our sin. Let our prayer be that God would do that continually and convict us when we dare see anyone any other way than how He does. Let our prayer be like that of the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me” (Psalm 139:23-24).