A Wall of Hostility (#40 of 365+)

“For [Christ] himself is our peace... and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations… to create in himself one new
man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Ephesians 2:14-16)

Please bear with my ramblings today. The Lord spoke so profoundly into my life yesterday afternoon that I actually said something aloud that I haven’t said in a very long time: “Oh God… forgive me…”

Jesus Christ conquered sin by way of the cross. Even with all my ups and downs I always understand this and know that God has ripped apart the veil of separation (Mark 15:38) and I can boldly approach his throne at any time (Hebrews 4:16). Forgiveness isn’t an issue anymore because my sin has been cast behind God’s back never to be brought up again (Hebrews 10:17). However the Lord has been pointing out a significant error in my thoughts, a perpetual sin in my mind that had the time to travel all the way into my heart. The crazy thing is I never thought it was a sin. In fact, I really thought I was on the side of righteousness. And, what’s worse, my error is so common among Christians today that it is becoming a stain on the name of Christ and is hurting our witness to the world. Our grave sin is that we’ve become too political.

When speaking of an individual, the word “Christian” shouldn’t be used as an adjective as if the word “Christian” is a marketing tool used to promote a superior product. “Christian” is a noun. It is who we are! Not “Christian plumber”, “Christian entrepreneur”, or “Christian candidate”. Just “Christian”. We’re not trying to sell anything with that name. It just means our life is about Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, Christians shouldn’t be defined by which side of the aisle we choose. Are our priorities aligned with a political party, or with God’s purposes? What did Jesus Christ come to earth to accomplish? Did he get involved with government issues? What mission did he leave behind for believers to fulfill? Where are our passions supposed to be directed towards first and foremost: Social and political issues… or the destiny of eternal souls?

A litmus test for me was when I realized that I wasn’t praying for any political leaders. I had fallen for all the hype in the media and had built a wall of hostility around my heart for those with a different party affiliation or worldview. God has shown me that I need to transition from a “culture warrior” to a “prayer warrior”. Even though as a Christian I should always be a responsible citizen (Matthew 22:21) I need to change my posturing from raising angry fists to getting on my knees and praying for the hearts, minds, and souls of those with political power (1 Tim 2:1-2). I am as an individual fairly insignificant in the greater scheme of things but I am part of the worldwide church and we serve a big and mighty God who is all-knowing, -present, and -powerful. He can get through where we can’t. The apostle Paul was once a Christian-killer named Saul until God got through to him. We need to tear down these walls of hostility we’ve created between us and our “enemies” and pray for them even as we respectfully agree to disagree.

Lord, help me to be an instrument of your peace. Not just to promote unity between people, but most importantly to promote their unity with you. Amen.