Tearing Down Walls
by Gerald Lamm

Ephesians 2:14-16

While reading Ephesians 2:14-16, I had to stop and think about the walls that separate us from the way God wants us to be.

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.” (Life Application Study Bible – NLT)

I spent much time contemplating these verses. Suddenly, it hit me what was being said here, and I tried to think of a way that I could apply this to my own life. Each of us, whether we want to admit it or not, have built walls around ourselves. I began to think about the walls in my life. I began to imagine myself standing in the middle of a big box. On the outside of all four walls, there were five people that represented my love, fear, anger, and hatred.

Firstly, there is a wall of love that I am sometimes afraid to let anyone come through. I’ve lost so many friends over the years that I don’t want to lose any more and so, I put up a wall to isolate myself and try to keep from getting close to anyone.

Secondly, there is a wall of fear. This wall is built of things of which I am afraid for no apparent reason, such as a fear of losing someone close to me ... fear of the unknown. If something is unknown, how can I be afraid of it?

The third wall is the wall of anger. When someone makes me angry, it’s hard for me to forgive the person.

The last wall is the wall of hatred. This is the most powerful wall of all. This wall is not easily torn down.

After thinking about these walls for a while, I began to think about these four walls around me. Then, I began to wonder how I could eliminate or at least weaken these walls to make it easier for me to find peace with myself. I realized that the best thing to do is to start with the weakest wall … love.

Why do I say the weakest wall is love? I know that there are people that I love and people that love me. I just have to learn to open up to these people and let them come into my life. As these people come into my life, I will begin to grow stronger with each person that I let into your life. So, now, instead of trying to tear down the next wall by yourself, you have the help of five other people. Just think what you could do if you had the strength of six people!

These five people that I have let come into my life from the side of love will help me overcome my fears. They will be there when I need them, to help support me and help calm my fears.

Once I tear down the wall of fear, I now have another five people to help me with the wall of anger. What power that would be to have the strength, security, and support of eleven people to help tear down the next wall … the wall of anger.

Now, the wall of anger is very strong. Someone has made me angry. Do I forgive that person and move on or do I simply stay angry with that person for the rest of my life? If I stay angry with that person, it just keeps eating away at me on the inside and I cannot find peace. This brings me back to the wall of fear … the fear that I will, one day, run into that person and have to face that anger again. The anger is very strong, so I’m going to need all the help I can get to break through this wall. By having someone to talk with, I can begin chipping away at this wall. It might take a while, but I have to remember that I have ten other people helping me now. It’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to be quick. But, as I chip away at my anger, I am removing the wall, piece by piece, or maybe I should say “peace by peace.”

Now with the wall of fear and anger out of the way, it’s time to move on to the strongest wall of all … the wall of hatred. This wall, if left intact, can cause irreparable damage. The wall of hatred had been built up over many, many years of ill feelings toward someone or something. It can be just one person, thing, or event. Even one person that I am having a problem with can cause the wall to have a sturdy foundation to build on. I try to find ways to keep this wall strong. If I let the wall of hatred keep standing, I will never know what it means to have peace.

With the support of the ones I love, without the fear and anger standing in the way, the wall of hatred can more easily be destroyed. I have to remember that the entire process starts with me and the process of just learning how to love others. Once I tore down each wall, I have more people to help me overcome the next wall.

Just imagine what you can do if you start tearing down the walls that separate you from the love that is in your heart. You learn how to forgive. You learn how to let things go. You learn how to love. And, most importantly, you will begin to know peace.