Message: In Ephesians 2 Paul was talking about reconciliation. He explained how at one time Jews and Gentiles were separated and categorized as “circumcised” and “uncircumcised”. Jews were chosen people and when they called the Gentiles “uncircumcised” they were acknowledging them as “unclean”. They were not allowed to associate with unclean, uncircumcised people. When Jesus died and resurrected, he did it to bring reconciliation between God and man. When he reconciled man to himself, he also reconciled man with each other. They were no longer considered separate and the very walls in the temple that separated Gentiles from entering the holy place were destroyed. What really jumped off the page to me here was footnote commentary in my Bible that said that the Jews and the Gentiles became one. The Gentiles didn’t become Jews, but the two groups became one at a deeper level than ethnicity. This reminded me of the illustration Paul gave about slaves and free men who were equals in Christ even though they lived a life of inequality in their physical life. As I think about our divided world right now, I see how the church was called to be different. We were called to be unified as one body. Black doesn’t become white, democrat does not become Republican. We all become unified as the body of Christ to be something completely different. One unified church reconciled to God. Nobody is adapting to the culture of another. We are all unified in our reconciliation to God. What really struck me here is that before we are reconciled to each other we are first reconciled to God. This is what causes us to reconcile as one body together. What a beautiful treasure to find in scripture in such a timely season!