“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down!” wrote poet Robert Frost. Unfortunately, that sentiment is not universally shared.
The largest construction project ever undertaken by humanity was building the Great Wall of China. Enough stone was used in that 1,700‑year project to build an 8‑foot wall girding the globe at the equator.
The Great Wall of China was built to keep out foreigners. It’s interesting that another famous wall, the Berlin Wall, was built to keep people from fleeing their homeland. Constructed in 1961, it was only twenty‑five miles long, but it divided a great city and it came to symbolize the failure of communism. It was a day of incredible rejoicing on November 9, 1989 when that wall came tumbling down.
We could have an extended conversation about another wall, one that has dominated news for some time, the wall on our U.S. border. I am happy to engage in such a debate, but not here. I’m still thinking about Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. It was an event that announced dramatically that all walls are vulnerable.
One the most important events that surrounded the crucifixion of Jesus was the rending of the veil of the Holy of holies in the temple as Jesus hang on the cross. The Holy of holies, the special dwelling place of the spirit of God in the temple. It was reserved for one man to enter, the high priest, and that only once a year. The symbolism is tremendously powerful. In the rending of the veil, the very heart of God was being revealed; we all have equal access to God. That which was always going on in God’s heart was revealed– a mercy that suffers to the point of going to the cross to die for us.
The way is opened to all and every wall is vulnerable. There is no wall that God cannot penetrate. It doesn’t matter what kind of wall it may be. It may be a wall between you and God because you have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. You’ve not repented – you’ve allowed sin to reign within your life and you do not know forgiveness. A wall is there.
You have been dull to God’s call and spurned God’s love. A wall is there.
You have cried, “Lord, Lord,” but you’ve not done his will. A wall is there.
You keep protecting yourself, refusing to completely give yourself to God, refusing to be the witness he wants you to be. A wall is there.
It matters not what the walls are; they may be walls between you and your spouse, because you’ve allowed past hurt to go unacknowledged and unhealed and those hurts have festered and become a poisonous sore. A wall is there.
It matters not what the walls are, they may be walls between you and one of your children. You’ve grown weary in giving and giving and giving, and the uncaring response of your child has worn you down to despair. A wall is there.
You and a child may be even more separated. He is in the far country spending his substance in riotous living. Your heart is broken and the pain is almost unbearable. A wall is there.
In all our lives, there are walls, but there is no wall Christ can’t penetrate and dissolve. The painting in the Inspirational Photo section of my website is by my wife, Jerry; it conveys the dramatic story. When Jesus was crucified, “darkness came over the whole land…for the sun stopped shinning. And the veil of the temple was torn in two.” (Luke 23:44-45)
Don’t just glance at the painting, or look casually; emotionally immerse yourself in it. Feel the power of Jesus standing on the cross, holding two parts of the veil that has been torn in two, the nails that tethered him now cast aside, the crown of thorns that mocked him now wasted at his feet.
All walls are vulnerable. Through his love and forgiveness, and the power Christ gives us to love and forgive, all walls may be broken down.