By: Juliet Constantine
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians 2:14-18)
For almost three decades, the Berlin Wall completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and East Berlin, thus restricting freedom of movement. It is said that the Wall of Shame was erected to protect the Eastern Bloc population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. In 1989, a series of radical political changes in the Eastern Bloc resulted in the announcement on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. The physical Wall itself was primarily destroyed in 1990. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3 October 1990. (Summarized from Wikipedia.org)
For a long time a wall of hate had separated Jews from non-Jews. Though all were descendants of Adam and Eve, their hatred for each erected an invisible wall which kept them apart. And then Christ came and brought peace! Jesus Christ, through the cross, broke down that wall of hate. He removed the separation and made us one people in Him. He gave us peace.
Today, we still build invincible walls that separate us - even though we claimed to embrace the peace that Jesus gives. A song from my childhood said “envy, jealousy, malice and pride, they should never in the heart abide.” We need to root them up. Why should we continue to live like a caged bird - the walls we’ve builded as “protection” only cages and separates. No matter the name given to them, they are walls of hate. There’s no need for walls to separate when Jesus is our peace!
The work of God will not progress when there is so much strife among His people. We undermine our unity when we harbor envy, jealousy, malice and pride. From the head to the toes, God’s people need to come together, confessing our faults one to another, that we can be healed and the work progress. We have accomplished so much in our present state. What if we were fully united? We would be Home already enjoying everlasting peace!
The peoples of Berlin and German, and the entire world, were very happy when the Great Wall fell. The wall was not physically erected again. Likewise, let us do everything in our power to keep the peace and love He gave. We are preparing ourselves and others for our Home above. We can only get there with Him as our peace!
Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for removing hate that separated us and showed us how to love in the true meaning of the word. Please help us to keep the peace which Jesus gave. In His name we pray, amen.
Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)
