By Pastor David Constien
With division defining our country and politics these days, the Bible gives us good news for our life in a divided world, a promise to hold on to and live by. Addressing division within the church at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul reminded the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:12- 17) that they were at one time living without hope and without God in the world.
Pastor David Constien
But that all changed when those who were “far off” were “brought near” by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. There, Paul says, Jesus made us one (with God, and in faith, with one another) and broke down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. He reconciled us all to God in one body through the cross, killing the hostility.
There really is nothing new under the sun, as King Solomon says. Tensions among the various tribes, nations, languages, and tongues have been around since the beginning of time. The Apostle Paul reminds us that what humans of all types need to affirm and confess is that no matter how divided we may be, we are all united in bearing the effects and separation of sin in ourselves. It may be cliché, but there really is only one race by God’s creation and that is the human race. We’re all ultimately from the same Hand and became infected with the same sin that separated us from our Creator and from one another.
But the good news is that the continuous fragmentation that was the hallmark of history began to be reversed by the profound love of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus took all the divisions, all the separations, and all the alienations into His own flesh and He destroyed them there! The hatred in the world is what killed Jesus, but somehow, in God’s Plan, that hatred that killed Jesus is precisely what Jesus took into His body and there He killed it! He killed the hostility! Jesus is our peace!
We can believe and cling to this promise – that Jesus has torn down the things that divide, the hostility is over! And through faith in him, God has begun to recreate one new humanity, to be complete when he comes again. We may not see this now with our physical eyes, but all are invited to know this reality by faith – that Jesus is our peace. The answer for our divisions already exists!
So, when the divisions start to rise, when the hatred and hostility start to come, with faith we take it and put it back into the
wounds of Jesus! Leave it where it belongs – in the body of Jesus, and where He left it behind – in the empty tomb!
Yes, life in this divided world means challenges will come, divisions rise, and peace will sometimes seem far away. It’s a world that still requires a lot of care until Jesus returns. He is our peace. Peace and unity that can seem so fragile actually exist because of what God has done in Jesus.
Living in light of this, we must remember that we’re not just people on the opposite sides of an issue or conviction. We must not demonize the other. The muckraking, personal attacks, speaking in extremes and exaggerations, the misrepresentations and half-truths we see and hear around us only feed on conflict and strengthen polarization. It only makes it increasingly difficult to see each other’s humanity, to hear God’s call to peace, and to heed his commission to love.
We need to listen and strive for understanding as we work toward our common good. We need to slow down, take a deep breath, and put the hostility back where it belongs – in the wounds of Jesus, and where he left it behind – in his empty tomb! May God grant it in our lives, our country, and in this world.
Rev. David Constien, Pastor of Mesquite Lutheran Church, proclaims the Word of God in its truth and purity in worship on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. and in Bible studies on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. Visit: mesquitelutheran.org, Facebook: @mesquiteLCC, (702) 346-5811 for more information. Mesquite Lutheran Childcare Center is available at (702) 346-3954.
