The Wall Comes Down, Peace Steps In
When the barrier falls, one bright space appears.
Devotional Credit:
In Christ, by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit:
Unsplash
Today’s reading from E. Stanley Jones celebrates Jesus as our peace. Not a principle, but a Person who brings those who were far off near to God and near to one another. The atonement is not cold arithmetic. It is at-one-ment, a shared life in the Son where rivalry and ladder-climbing finally end.
Jones contrasts two ways of living. One strives to reach God by performance and ends up divided from others. The other receives the gift of grace and discovers a new fellowship among receivers. In Jesus we do not achieve a position. We are placed into Him, and in Him the dividing wall is broken.
You do not have to manufacture unity. You express the unity you already possess in the Messiah. We may betray it by acting from the old self, yet the gift itself remains. The call is to stay close to Jesus, and to step out of Him is to step out of peace.
This peace is deeply practical. It heals relationships, softens competition, and creates a society of receivers who give freely. Around everything else we divide. Around Jesus we unite.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You who were far off have been brought near by the blood of My Son. He Himself is your peace. He made both groups one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, creating in Himself one new humanity, reconciling you to Me in one body through the cross.
Since you have been justified by faith you have peace with Me. Through Him you have access in one Spirit to Me, and you are no longer strangers, but members of My household. Let the peace of the Messiah rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit. In My Son there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Him. Let your gentleness be known to all. As much as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Be reconciled, for I have entrusted to you the ministry of reconciliation.
Scripture References: Ephesians 2:13–18, Romans 5:1–2, Ephesians 2:19, Colossians 3:15, Ephesians 4:3–6, Galatians 3:28, Philippians 4:5, Romans 12:18, 2 Corinthians 5:18–20, John 17:21–23, Colossians 1:20, Isaiah 57:19, Matthew 5:9
Real-Life Analogy
Picture a home remodel where a dividing wall is removed between the kitchen and the living room. Suddenly there is one bright space, conversations flow, and the family moves freely. The house did not get larger, but the barrier is gone.
When tension rises with someone today, pause and say, Lord, I trust You to let Your peace govern my words and welcome others as You have welcomed me. Then take one step that fits that peace. Offer a sincere apology, listen without interrupting, or share a kind word that opens the room for fellowship.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that Jesus is my peace. You have brought me near, and You have seated me in one body with others You love. I praise You that the wall is down, access is open, and Your peace rules my heart. I receive Your reconciling life, and I rejoice to walk in unity that You have already given.