Unity in Christ: Ephesians 2: 11-22

It’s no secret that one of the greatest deficits in the world and in the Church today is unity. It seems we are all more divided than ever. And yet history would show that humans have been dividing and putting up walls of hostility against each other for as long as history records. It should come as no surprise then that as the early church was figuring out how to live out new lives in Christ in a new diverse family, the apostle Paul was often addressing this issue specifically. When you have Jews and Gentiles, zealots and tax collectors, rich and poor all brought together into one community, there are bound to be issues. 

In the passage we looked at this past weekend, Paul says that while there had previously been walls of hostility that divided them, now in Christ there can be peace because Jesus did away with those walls and divisions. He brought all things together in unity under himself so that we might have peace - peace with God and peace with each other. 

So why doesn’t it feel that way? Why does it feel like even within the church, we are all at odds with one another? While the issues we are facing are incredibly complex today, I don’t actually think it is the issues that are dividing us. At least that’s not all it is. I believe it is our hearts. 

For many of us, myself included, we can become so fearful of the future, so afraid of what might happen if x or y don’t change, that the fear can fuel our anger and our anger can fuel our outrage and our outrage can turn brother and neighbor into opponent and even villain. We have a responsibility as the people of God to act justly, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Many of us, in our anger over the evil and brokenness that we see around us, desire to seek justice. But we can’t agree on what that looks like. Most of us desire to love kindness. But it’s hard to be kind to people you disagree with and believe to be perpetuating the problems. And most of us desire to walk with God. But do we desire humility?

As I’ve sat with this passage all week, the conviction of the Spirit has made that word stand out to me the most. I pray for a lot of things. But how often do I pray for increased humility? Humility is not opposed to confidence but it is opposed to arrogance. What would it look like if the people of God began to seek humility before him above all else, submitting ourselves to the Spirit’s conviction and correction, pressing into repentance and confession, and doing all of that before we rant on social media or fight with our neighbor about complex issues that desperately need the wisdom of God to navigate? What if our prayers were that God’s kingdom would come and his will would be done FIRST in our own hearts, in our own mouths, in our own lives, SO THAT we might be able to have the wisdom and heart of our Father in order better display his goodness and his kingdom in the world? I’m praying this for myself this week. I hope you’ll pray it, too.