Here at the Wall: Forgiveness

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. . “(Ephesians 2:13-14 NIV)

Walls divide. They separate. And often hurt and a lack of forgiveness are the culprits.

In the passage above, the wall separated Jews and Gentiles. Culture, religion, and race.

For me, race and religion don’t tend to be the issue. For me, the wall was built for protection from hurt. From rejection. It stays there because of a lack of forgiveness.

I doubt the offender even knows it’s up.

But I do.

Matthew 18:21-35 gives the parable of the unmerciful servant. Verse 35 ends, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Jesus has removed the barrier of sin between the Father and me. Could I, should I, not do the same?

Forgive and forget? Easy, if forgetting were possible. Just delete the offense, and I’m done.

Forgive in spite of the memories? Much harder to do as I work through the pain.

Who is on the other side of your wall?

Jesus wants to destroy this wall too.

Lay each brick at His feet. Allow Him to be your peace. Work together to destroy the dividing wall of hostility, and forgive.

Questions:

Do you have a wall? Why?

How do your debts to the Father compare to that person’s debt to you?

Family Application:

Use a visual to illustrate the two debts in the parable: Monopoly money, Skittles, or M&M’s.

Talk about how we feel when someone hurts our feelings and, likewise, how God feels when we hurt His by sinning.

Tweetables:

Walls divide. And often hurt and a lack of forgiveness are the culprits. Click To Tweet
I doubt the offender even knows the wall is up. But I do. Click To Tweet
Who is on the other side of your wall? Click To Tweet

Leave a Comment





Join Gayle

Subscribe to get my latest content by email.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Recent Posts