TEAR DOWN THE WALLS
Greetings Foothills church family!
The following excerpt is from Michael Yaconelli’s book MESSY SPIRITUALITY
“In the Second World War, a group of soldiers was fighting in the rural countryside of France. During an intense battle, one of the American soldiers was killed. His comrades did not want to leave his body on the battlefield and decided to give him a Christian burial. They remembered a church a few miles behind the front lines whose grounds included a small cemetery surrounded by a white fence. After receiving permission to take their friend’s body to the cemetery, they set out for the church, arriving just before sunset.
A priest, his bent-over back and frail body betraying his many years, responded to their knocking. His face, deeply wrinkled and tan, was the home of two fierce eyes that flashed with wisdom and passion.
“Our friend was killed in battle,” they blurted out, “and we wanted to give him a church burial.”
Apparently the priest understood what they were asking, although he spoke in very broken English. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but we can bury only those of the same faith here.”
Weary after many months of war, the soldiers simply turned to walk away. “But,” the old priest called after them, “you can bury him outside the fence.”
Cynical and exhausted, the soldiers dug a grave and buried their friend just outside the white fence. They finished after nightfall.
The next morning, the entire unit was ordered to move on, and the group raced back to the little church for one final goodbye to their friend. When they arrived, they couldn’t find the gravesite. Tired and confused, they knocked on the door of the church. They asked the old priest if he knew where they had buried their friend. “It was dark last night and we were exhausted. We must have been disoriented.”
A smile flashed across the old priest’s face. “After you left last night, I could not sleep, so I went outside early this morning and I moved the fence.”
This Sabbath we continue in our series GEAR UP: Put On the Full Armor of God, with a study of the gospel of the sandals of peace (and the breastplate of righteousness). In our journey, we will see that Jesus didn’t just move fences, he tore them down! Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he is our (Jew and Gentile) peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.”
Division is a scheme of the devil. Satan wants us to live in a constant state of hurt and anger. Satan wants us to respond with bitterness and malice. Satan wants us to live on edge and constantly be on guard. Satan wants us to be constantly suspicious of others’ motives and quick to offense. All of this leads to division, and division is the neutralizer to multiplication. The devil fights the expansion of God’s kingdom and the spread of the gospel by getting God’s people to fight among themselves. Post-election, is there a better time to meditate on the sandals of the gospel of peace?!
We are called to be “in Christ” while living “at Ephesus.” As we surrender to and embrace our new life in Christ, may we remember that “...those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27-28)
Never forget, God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
