For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. Ephesians 2:14
“He is our peace.” Ephesians 2:10 Many years ago, the Prince of Wales visited the capital city of In-dia. A formidable barrier had been set up to keep back the mass-es of people who wanted to catch a glimpse of royalty. When the prince arrived, he shook hands with some of the political dignitar-ies who were presented to him. Then, looking over their heads to the crowds beyond, he said, “Take down those barriers!” They were quickly removed, and all the people, regardless of social rank, had free access to the heir of the British empire. Some time later when the prince came to that district again, 10,000 outcasts waited under a banner inscribed with these words: “The Prince of the Outcasts.” What a great description of Jesus, who by His death has not broken every barrier down between us and God, but also taken down the wall between me and you. “… to create in Himself one new man from the two.” Eph. 2:15 When Leonardo da Vinci was painting the Last Supper, he had an intense, bitter argument with a fellow painter. Leonardo was so enraged that he decided to paint the face of his enemy into the face of Judas. That way the hated painter’s face would be pre-served for ages in the face of the betraying disciple. When Leo-nardo finished Judas, everyone easily recognized the face of the painter with whom Leonardo quarreled. Leonardo continued to work on the painting. But as much as he tried, he could not paint the face of Christ. Something was holding him back. Leonardo de-cided his hatred toward his fellow painter was the problem. So, he worked through his hatred by repainting Judas’ face, replacing the image of his fellow painter with another face. Only then was he able to paint Jesus’ face and complete the masterpiece. The work of God’s Spirit, the times of refreshing come when we work at unity. It comes when we’re able to paint the face of Jesus into our lives. Comments are closed.
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