Tearing down the walls

IS IT HUMAN nature to construct walls? We build houses so we can live within the walls, fences round our gardens. Some walls we build are to keep people out and some are to keep people in. There are walls that still divide men and women, between the affluent and the poor, between black and white.

Perhaps we put up walls that are not seen between us and the outside world, which give us some sort of protection from being hurt of affected by those around us. President Trump is bringing his country to a standstill because of a wall, which he perceives to be the answer, to block out difficult issues rather than finding solutions. Many of us will remember the Berlin wall coming down 27 years ago and the joy on the faces of those reunited. Walls whether visible or not exist in all areas of our lives.

The early Church was no exception to this, there was a distinct segregation of the Jews and the Gentiles, Paul when he was writing to the Church in Ephesus has to keep reminding them that Christ had died on the cross to unite them, that all were equal in God’s kingdom. Ephesians 2:14-16 says: “The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance.

“He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody. Christ brought us together through his death on the cross” (The Message).

Have we put up walls between us and the outside world, within our families, between our friends, in our communities, in our churches? Let us work together to bring those barriers down and help each other to live together in peace.

If we can find solutions rather than blocking ourselves in, then we will find freedom to live our lives to their fullest potential.