EphesiansSample

Have you ever felt like an outsider? I think at some point, we all have. When I was in college, I got the opportunity to travel to Germany. This was a big deal for me, as I had never been out of the country and knew very little of the German language apart from my dad teaching me how to count to ten as a child.

So, here I was in a foreign country. No cell phone service for GPS, no ability to read any of the signage, and absolutely no clue where I was in the middle of a city. But, during this trip, our group had a very gracious host that spoke English and was knowledgeable about where we were going each day. A liaison of sorts. Throughout the weeks we spent there, our liaison introduced us to lots of her German friends, taught us about the city, and even imparted a little bit of German to us along the way. We truly felt like we were a part of her family.

We can often have experiences such as these and still leave feeling like an outsider or as if we were at odds with the people around us. But, because of our liaison, that wasn’t our story.

When I read this passage of scripture, it reminds me of my time in Germany. In this time, in the history of the text, the Gentiles were truly the outcasts of the religious world. Jews would look at them with such contempt as to even call them, “uncircumcised heathens.” They were viewed as a lower class with not a single clue about God. They were excluded by the Jewish people and were thought to never experience the promises God had in store for His people. They had no hope. It was as if they were lost in another country without GPS or knowledge of the language to read the signs on the street.

Paul then lays out the work that Jesus did on the cross for Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus was the hope-bringer to the Gentiles, drawing them to Himself and unifying them with the Jewish people with his sacrifice. Paul describes this in a beautiful picture in verse 14, “For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”

Not only did Jesus bring salvation and hope to the Gentiles, but He brought unity to all people through His love. He broke down the wall that divided us and brought hope and belonging.

Prayer Points

• Thank God for the hope He gave when He sent Jesus to be our Savior.
• Ask God to continue to break down walls of disunity in your life.
• Pray that you would be the feet that bring someone in your life to Jesus so they can experience the belonging He provides.