Peace on Earth: A 5-Day Advent DevotionalSýnishorn

Today, we’re reading Ephesians 2:11-22, which helps us see how the peace announced at Christmas affects not just our relationship with God, but also our relationships with other people.

In this passage, Paul—a Jewish man thoroughly educated in the Old Testament law—is writing to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was in Greece, and most of the people hearing this letter were Gentiles, not Jews.

Before Jesus came, God’s love was communicated primarily through His covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, not with Gentiles. Here, Paul is telling the Gentiles that Jesus died for all who believe in Him, so they aren’t excluded anymore. They are pulled into the warmth and light of the family of God.

There are no second-class citizens among God’s people, no least-favorite child of God.

This means two things for us:

1. When you trust in Jesus, you are welcomed into His family, no matter your nationality or race or background or anything else.
2. When other people trust in Jesus, they are welcomed into his family. If Jesus paid for them with His blood, they are incredibly precious to Jesus. They are deeply worthy of our love and respect as brothers and sisters in Christ.