Broken Walls
Hand me the hammer, please. It’s time to break down the walls. Walls need to be broken down that keep us from others. I am the world’s worst about keeping to myself; I don’t really like to let people in because then they would know the real me. I was convicted over the weekend that it’s time to be real. I do feel that time is moving quickly to that point – whether Jesus comes back or something else huge that will occur – that will change everything. I don’t know what God has in store, but something major is brewing. God is giving us warnings that are escalating beyond a normal pattern. God frequently works in cycles, and I believe we are coming to another major end of a cycle. With conviction, I realized that the book that God called me to write needs to be done very soon. In it, I share my testimony. As I was writing it over the last few years, I had to come to grips with many issues that had been hidden from my view. I had some blind spots that needed to be revealed. In sharing my testimony, I am letting others see things as they are (or were).
Walls do nothing but keep others out and ourselves in. There is no communication between walls. As I have observed the Body of Christ, as we gather during our worship times, we have isolated ourselves from those who really need to see Jesus. We have built walls that show the world a different picture than what the Bible has given to us as an example. The first believers were living life together as a family – day in and day out. Like most families, they saw each others mess. Yet, they loved one another no matter the mess. They showed love to those around them. Outsiders took notice that the Jesus followers were different. They were overpowering non-believers with love and that love grew the church body. Jesus followers were giving all they had to take care of others. They were on mission to be a disciple who made other disciples.
Paul had to call out one church that wasn’t living as they should as followers of Jesus. Paul wrote to the Body in Corinth about a problem. The people of God in that area were not acting in love, and it was an issue that needed to be addressed (1 Corinthians 6:8-11). We all have sins of our past. Some of those sins keep us in a place of shame. However, when we have been forgiven, those sins are no longer remembered – they are forgotten by a gracious God. We cannot hold the past against anyone. We all have fallen short of living a life of righteousness. We as the Body have an obligation to break down the walls that separate us from the outside world. We are told to go out in the world, but don’t become like the world. We are supposed to be different; we would rather be like everyone else. We are told to love one another so that we can show the world the difference in our “family.”
I have often wondered what it would have been like to live in the time of great revivals; where record numbers were coming to Christ. I wondered what it was like for those early disciples who were so eager to share the story of how Jesus died, but then three days later, he arose from the grave! People saw Him and touched Him. They were eyewitnesses to the greatest event in history. I wonder now, what this next event that God has in mind. We may be in for a time of another great revival. Maybe God wants to use us to lead the way. But it’s going to take a hammer to break down those walls that keep us from reaching out. It’s time to be more like the first century church – taking care of one another and showing love to those outside the family. It’s time to meet the needs of those around us and tell others what Jesus has done for us. It’s time to be real and authentic. We will need to be the light to those who are still experiencing the darkness. When the walls are broken down, the light can finally be seen!
No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:15-16 (NLT)
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