“Break down barricades that separate God’s children from each other. Do any walls bisect your world? There you stand on one side. And on the other? The person you’ve learned to disregard, perhaps even disdain. . . . Jesus loves to break down walls.”- Max Lucado
“He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. . . . Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody. Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility.”- Ephesians 2:14-16 (MSG)
In Chapter 12 (“Blast a Few Walls”) of Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado discusses Philip’s cross-cultural mission. First, Pastor Lucado observes, walls separated Philip from the Ethiopian eunuch. Thus, their lives were quite different. The eunuch – dark-skinned, rich, and single. Philip, in contrast – light-skinned, a simple refugee banished from Jerusalem, and the father of four girls.
Above all, Philip displayed no hesitation in sharing the good news about Jesus with the eunuch. Next, Philip baptized him. Therefore, the cross of Christ creates a new people with an identity based on a common Savior. Finally, Max counsels, to outlive our lives we must get beyond our biases. And those we’ve been taught to distrust and avoid. As Pastor Lucado exhorts, it’s time to remove a few bricks from the wall:
‘Welcome the day God takes you to your Samaria — not so distant in miles but different in styles, tastes, tongues, and traditions. And if you meet an Ethiopian eunuch, so different yet so sincere, don’t refuse that person. Don’t let class, race, gender, politics, geography, or culture hinder God’s work. For the end of the matter is this: when we cross the field and cheer for the other side, everyone wins.”
Today’s question: What Scriptures help you break down barricades separating God’s children? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Pecking orders – people prone to them”
