For Jesus is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. Ephesians 2:14
It is easy to live discouraged. The news is rife with violence and division and our daily activity confronts us with brokenness in relationships and local systems. Complicating matters, the mechanisms and customs we have relied on to bring order and peace show their limitations. But we are not without hope. The cross of Christ is not a magic wand but it does have power to bring change. It exposes the lie that things are not that bad--at least nothing that a little education or money can’t solve. The cross reveals that humanity has a heart problem—and it reveals that the world has a God who has a heart. That Heart heals our heart with a steadfast love, freeing us to operate not out of fear, revenge, condemnation, needing to prove ourselves or protecting the way things always have been, but to live instead, as people who can risk taking another step partnering with Jesus to live into peace—to forgive, seek forgiveness, to consider one another as having great worth to God, to stand up for those who are othered, to love mercy and seek conditions where all life can thrive.
By baptism we are united in Christ. We are crucified with him which means the root of discouragement, selfishness, pride—all that contributes to division with others has been put to death.
Consider the cross…risk…hope…and love as Christ has loved you.
“Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. Romans 15:7
— James B