Alienation and Separation

 Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12

As we think back on the past year plus, one thing that we see is what it means to be separated. COVID caused us to be separated from each other in drastic ways that were previously unfamiliar to us. We had to stand six feet or more apart from each other. We had to wear masks. For a vast majority of people, we were even told to work from home if at all possible. In other words, be separate from each other. 

That led to alienation. Think about just the past few months. As we have started to get back to a place where we can be in contact with each other, there has been a great deal of uncertainty. Mask or no mask? Do we shake hands and hug, or not? Can we sit beside someone at a table, or do we still keep distance? We still feel alienated, and in some respects, we need to learn how to interact again.

Paul paints an even greater alienation in the verse above. God had a people that He had chosen to be His people, and they were to be a blessing to all families on earth (see Genesis 12:3). However, they had not accomplished that task. Instead, walls of separation and hostility had been built up between them and the rest of the world, a division Paul highlights between the Jews and the Gentiles. Those on the outside were alienated from God's people and thus were separated from Christ.

It's no fun to be alienated or separated. Ask the kid at school who is off by himself or herself. Or think about the person at your work that most people avoid. Alienation hurts. Separation is painful. When we think of separation in a family or marriage, there is usually a great deal of pain involved. Even more so when it comes to the God who created and redeemed all things.

Jesus took God's wrath at us building up sinful walls of separation and alienation. When Jesus' body was broken on the cross, so also were the walls that separate us from each other and alienate. Now Jesus is our peace, as Paul wrote two verses later. Jesus restored that which was never to be separated. Jesus brought back those who were never intended to be alienated. His death on the cross and resurrection to new life created a new oneness between those who were separate and alienated from each other.

As you think about those from whom you are separated and alienated, consider how those walls of division have been broken down by Jesus. Are there ways that you can work to bring those walls down, so that others may know the peace that is theirs in Jesus? What is the first step you will take in breaking down those walls? When will you do that? May God's Spirit give you wisdom and guidance as you look to share that new creation in Jesus with others.