The wall of hostility.

I read Ephesians 2:11-22 as part of my morning devotion today. As  I reflected on this passage, one phrase stood out: The wall of hostility. We are experiencing an unprecedented time in our nation's history. The biggest divide in generations, and unfortunately, the church has found itself caught up in the whirlwind. Everyone is choosing sides. Politicians and social reformers use the Bible and Jesus’ words to advance their own agenda, whichever side they are on.

In my opinion, the reason for that is that we have mixed morals with politics and social progress, and have intertwined all. No longer do we separate church from state or morals from governmental administration and legislation. We are asking the government to decide on our values. That is dangerous because the government is going to use its own principles to dictate our lives; because it is made up of fallen humans, most of them individuals without a reliable moral compass. They have no scriptural absolute, so truth is relative.

The Christians in Ephesus were also faced with a similar situation. On one hand, there were those of “the circumcision” (Jews who believed), and the uncircumcised (gentile believers). One could say there were the republicans and the democrats, the conservatives and the liberals of the time (and I make no particular reference to which is which). The point is that, just like now, there was a wall of hostility between them. Just like now, Christians on each side were engaged in an “us-versus-them” war, attacking each other, trying to convince the other side of how they were right. Everyone claimed their own moral high ground was the right one. Sounds familiar? Aren’t we doing the same thing today? We are both using the Bible to support our stand.

But stating the obvious by understanding the fact is nothing if we don’t see or offer a solution, an alternative. If both sides are wrong, who, then, is right? If both sides are right, why do we fight at all? All we are doing is fanning the flame. So, not only is the country divided, but the church is as well. We, the church, who are called to be the light of the world, who are called to be the peacemakers, are sometimes part of the problem.  It is not enough to identify the problem and to expose the two sides of the issue without a third option that can unite both relative truths into one absolute truth.

Enter Jesus. “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).  There is the alternative! Not an earthly political stand, or a moral soapbox, or even a theological position. Jesus was talking about a way of life, a personal frame of mind, feelings, and behavior, one that emanates from the person of Jesus Christ himself, for the benefit of others. We think how He thinks, feel what He feels, act as He acts. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom that does not originate from nor end in the political or moral thermometer of the times, but in the depths of a heart that has totally yielded to obedience to a risen Christ.

So Paul unpacks this in Ephesians 2:11-22, especially verses 19-22. He says that first, we are “fellow citizens”. He tore down the law (we might call that our citizenship) and the wall of hostility (v.14-15) to make one nation of the two. He brought peace because He is our peace. But we can’t have peace between us unless we have peace within us.

Second, Paul takes it up a notch and brings it home. Not only are we now one nation, but we are one family. We are not just fellow citizens; we are part of the same household (v.19). Like an hourglass, that smaller unit, that household, is held together by Jesus, the cornerstone (that is the point of convergence), which in turns widens up again, stone by stone (us) t become a visible, physical building, a holy temple for the whole world to see. But as long as we value our earthly citizenship more than we value our heavenly citizenship, we cannot be part of that temple because our loyalties are divided. We are nothing but single bricks floating on our own without a mutual purpose.

Republicans and democrats have their leaders, but they both vary every so often. There are Christians on both sides, and I truly believe that they are both driven by the same love for others, but from different perspectives. But isn’t it interesting that red and blue make purple? Purple is the color of royalty. God wants to take the good of both transitional red and blue philosophies and create one solid, eternal, Purple kingdom, marked by the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, and cannot be legislated: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law,” to establish an unseen, non-partisan Kingdom, led by the One who does not pass, who cannot be impeached nor deposed: Jesus Christ himself.

If we could only take to heart that “His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility,” we could shine our light unto the world around us and not be put to shame by either side, because the Kingdom that is worthy of our loyalty, is not red or blue, it’s Purple, and is not of this world.