By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper
Focal Passage: Ephesians 2:11-22
The Great Wall of China was built approximately 200 years before Jesus was born. It took almost a century to build. It was originally 3,000 miles long. Today there are only about 1,500 miles remaining.
It varies in height from 15 to 50 feet high. The average width is about 12 feet.
I have been told that The Great Wall of China can be seen with the naked eye from space. That’s interesting to me, the only thing visible to the eye is a wall man built because that’s what man loves to do is build walls, because walls are built to separate.
When we build our walls, we use many kinds of stones. Racial stones, stones of sexual separation, religious stones, social stones, etc. In order to keep the stones together we have to use mortar. Mortar is made up of two kinds of ingredients; pride and prejudice.
Pride is anytime you look down on another person because of their looks, their skin color, or their place in this world, you are basically saying, “I am better than you are. I am better than the way you act, the way you live, the possessions you have. I am better than you.”
Prejudice is when you prejudge a person because of their race, their background or maybe their religion. You prejudge them before you get to know them.
Pride and prejudice are the mortar that makes up the wall of hostility we tend to build.
Some of the biggest, tallest and strongest walls we find built today are around prisons. When we build walls of separation and hostility, we are confining ourselves. We are in bondage.
Bondage separates us from fellowship with each other. Every child of God, whether you like them or not, are your brothers or sisters in Christ. When we build walls, we cut off the blessing of fellowship with them.
Walls also separate us from our mission to the world. Jesus says in the Great Commission, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” The Greek word for “all” is “ALL!”
If we build walls because of racial or religious differences, we’ll be hindered from the mission Christ has called us to. If we want to be like God, we will come to a place in our life where there are no walls of division.
We must be willing to let God, the Holy Spirit to tear down every wall of hostility we have built. How do we do that? First, we must realize that it’s the cross of Jesus that makes us one. Galatians 3:28 says we are all ONE in Christ Jesus. God is saying there is absolutely no room for racial, sexual, social or religious walls of hostility. We are ONE in Christ Jesus.
Jesus died on the cross to bring us together. There used to be a wall between us and God. When Jesus died on the cross, that wall was knocked down and God says, “I love you. The cross also tore down the wall between us and others too.
It is only because of God’s love that you are free to love others. I John 4:11-12 tells us that since God loves us, we ought to love one another. When we love one another, God’s love lives in us and His love is completed.
What walls in your life need to fall? Are there any walls of separation remaining in your life? Jesus died to tear down the walls.
