ODJ: near
October 13, 2011
Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him (v.13).
READ: Ephesians 2:11-22
Invictus, a film starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon and set in South Africa at apartheid’s end, tells the story of Nelson Mandela’s inaugural years as South Africa’s first black president. The opening scenes are grim, showing blacks playing soccer in a dumpy, dusty field, while whites, clad in crisp, clean uniforms, are playing rugby on a plush field directly across the road. As Mandela’s motorcade passes between the two (presumably heading to his new office at the capital), the white rugby coach says, “Remember this day, boys. This is the day our country went to the dogs.”
Human history is littered with horrific stories of one human set against another, one race set against another, one country set against another. For the Ephesians, the central division was between Jews and Gentiles. Hatred, fear, and pride (as well as a misapplication of God’s instructions) made these neighbors hostile enemies.
Even more dreadful, however, is the sad tale of the way we humans have set ourselves against God. Because of our arrogant ways, we have run from God’s love. As a result, Scripture says, we are “outsiders” (1 Corinthians 5:12). To be an outsider is to be separated, distanced—far from fellow humans and far from God. Paul sets the result in dire terms. Left to ourselves, we’re “without God and without hope” (Ephesians 2:12). Can you imagine a more lonely and despairing description than hopeless outsiders?
By God’s grace we haven’t been left in this predicament, for He came to us in Jesus. God, whom we had abandoned and pushed far away, came near. and “brought peace to us” (v.14)—peace with Him and, in turn, peace offered to all humanity. Wherever people face separation, hostility, or aloneness, God offers Himself. Peace is near, for God is near. —Winn Collier
What person do you feel distant from and how would obeying God bring you nearer to him or her? Where do you feel distant from God, and how do you sense God is pursuing you in spite of that distance?
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