Strangers

"You were separated from Christ ... strangers to the covenants of promise," Ephesians 2:12.

God had made the law of covenants and ordinances with Israel through Moses. Through the sacrifice of his body, Christ abolished it. God had also made covenants of promise (not law). Before the law of Moses, God promised to bless all families of earth through Abraham and Sarah. As of yet, however, gentiles, ethnics, any other peoples were not part of that. Not yet. But Christ came and preached peace between far off and near by peoples. Christ's blood (the seal of the new covenant) brought us all near to God. Through his body on the cross, Christ created in his very self one new people. Christ reconciled us all in his one body to God. Through Christ we all have access to God in one Spirit. We all, together, form the new temple of God on this earth.

We visit with a brother or sister today being blessed by God's promises. And together we give thanks to God for calling us all into the one body of Christ.