THE MISSING PEACE Unlock and Sustain Peace in Your Daily LifeSample

Day 6:

E-PHESIANS

REMEDY FOR HOSTILITY

“For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

Ephesians 2:14-16

I appreciate resources like concordances and commentaries. Specifically, the Enduring Word commentary app has been an invaluable tool for interpreting and contextualizing scripture. It explains this passage from the second chapter in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in a nutshell. It states that Jesus did not simply MAKE peace between God and man, Jew and Gentile. He IS our peace. In our frantic search for something to fill that supposed peace-shaped hole in our hearts, we miss the whole point. The missing peace is actually Jesus, who fits perfectly in that hole. He became the bridge that connected us with our Heavenly Father.

Much like the wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles referenced in the Bible text above, our churches of today still fight battles of ritualistic religion and self-righteous Pharisaical rigidity. We create hostility in the name of appearing holy, while worshipping at the altar of hypocrisy. In an effort to become a legion of Super Christians, the Western church has taken its eye off the ball. We have forgotten the Jesus Thesis of keeping the main thing the main thing. Wouldn’t we all be more peaceful beings if we simply loved God and loved people? Wouldn’t it take less effort to create less drama and judgment? It seems like a lot of senseless sweat spent on frivolous bickering, backbiting, and belittling.

Peace is exponentially multiplied when our commitment and dedication to following Christ is ratcheted up in frequency and intensity. When we hunger with our whole heart at all times is when His presence is most evident. It’s also interesting that our peace is not contingent upon the church’s general ledger, what music is on the set list this week, the dress code allowed in the building, or who’s teaching the parenting class this semester. While all might be an acknowledgment or considered for ancillary reasons, none of it should be on the radar of our immediate attention and priority. The more factors beyond our responsibility that we are irritated by or in judgment of, the less peace we experience. Yes, we are responsible for standing in the gap for the defenseless and for preventing malicious wrongdoing within our reach. However, most of us are not in those situations regularly and are often meddling where we don’t belong. Otherwise, our primary focus should be to stay in our lanes and steward that with which we have been entrusted. There is plenty to keep us busy that is well within our immediate grasp.