My son came running in, very excited about a picture he found on Pinterest. It’s a picture of two mountains – God on one side and man on the other. There’s a big valley between the two and man can’t reach God. But the next picture shows Jesus’ cross lying across the valley and forming a bridge that makes it possible for man to reach God. A simple picture with an amazing message: 13Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

Before Jesus came it was so terribly difficult to cross the valley between God and man. Many tried, but most fell to their death against the steep cliffs. Only the most holy stood a chance. And looking at my own life, if I’m honest, I know I would not have made it. Not a nice picture at all.

Thank you to Jesus who built the bridge. Thank you that He died and shed his blood for us so that we may have a chance to reach God. Without Him most of us would have been in deep trouble.

Therefore, each moment of our lives must be lived in gratitude. Grateful for the chance of life, eternal life.

But Jesus did more than repairing our relationship with God. Jesus uses an enormous hammer to break down the walls that people put up amongst themselves brick by brick. 14The 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 He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped.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.

And this sentence keeps echoing through my mind: … because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood … because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood … because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood …

What an extremely expensive price Jesus had to pay. But it was the only way to enable different people to come together. We cannot do it ourselves. We are simply too weak to do it. It had to be effected through the blood of God’s only Son. Only Jesus’ blood breaks down the walls that people built between them through the ages.

Therefore, each moment of our lives must be lived in gratitude. Grateful for the chance of life, eternal life.

But when I look around me I can see that people cannot be on the same side of the wall. I see the thick walls erected between them. I see them sending bombs over the walls between them to kill one another.

How God must be crying about us humans wasting Jesus’ blood! Has He died for nothing? Has Jesus’ blood been shed for nothing?

How sad!

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:11-18

Reflection

Where are you helping to put up walls?

Where are your relationships failing?

Is it time to ask Jesus to help break down walls?

Prayer

Father, I must confess my sin. Sometimes, I also put up walls around myself, because I do not want to live with others. It’s much safer here behind my own wall. But it is indeed one of the reasons why You came – to bring about peace between us and your other children. I know I must help break down walls. Please help me! Amen