The Right Kind of Wall

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 42

It had a wall around it... to make a separation between the holy and the common. (Ezekiel 42.20)

Devotional Thought: Some walls are beautiful: "The wall was built of jasper... adorned with every kind of jewel" (Revelation 21.18-19).  Others are an eyesore: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (Ronald Reagan, 1987).  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however, often depending on whether the beholder lives near the wall ... and on which side!

What makes a wall beautiful?  Walls that provide...

·       Security from Danger.  Walls, both ancient and modern, are necessary to protect the innocent from harm.  Jesus provides a fold for the sheep.

·       Identity as Family.  Within certain walls, we can "rest" for we understand the culture and language.  We see that phenomenon in cities with ethnic neighborhoods.

·       Possibility of Growth.  Within walls, we can expect certain results based on our behavior.  That stability helps us explore our potential.

What makes a wall ugly?  Walls that...

·       Exclude the Outsider.  I like the description of the New Jerusalem (in Revelation 21) which has a wall with twelve gates that are never shut.  God's walls don't exclude those who would enter through the Gate.

·       Entrap the Insider.  Some walls do not allow freedom.  I'm glad that in Jesus there is freedom.

God gave the prophet Ezekiel a vision of a wall around the restored temple in Jerusalem, the purpose of which was "to make a separation between the holy and the common." 

We have a spiritual wall to help us identify the holy and the unholy.  The Word of God provides security from false doctrine, identity as God's children, and possibility for growth.  Are you living inside the wall of God's grace?  Are you inviting others in?

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for protecting us within the wall of your grace.  Help us to live in the freedom of Christ.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 58.1-8

1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.

6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.

8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.