Building One Another  

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

Are You a Dividing Wall or a Retaining Wall?

Dear Friend –

Jesus remarked that a house divided against itself will not stand.

In Ezekiel 22, God says he searched for a person to “stand in the gap” on behalf of the land, and at that time, he found no one.

Yet, with Jesus, we find one who did stand in the gap for us, “For Jesus himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Ephesians 2:14  

In our divisive day, do you support the dividing walls between us or are you standing in the gap, as Jesus did, on behalf of the land?

Be the retaining walls that shores us up!

Poet Edward Markim was to write the little poem, Outwitted, of great significance:

     He drew a circle that shut me out--

     Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout.

     But Love and I had the wit to win:

     We drew a circle that took him in!

What kind of circle are you drawing? Will you trust Jesus to work in and through you that you may be the retaining wall that replaces the dividing walls of hostility?          

Joy to you - E. Stanley Ott​

Copyright 2026 E. Stanley Ott​

1. How do Mark 3:25, Ephesians 2:14, and John 17:23 apply to us today?
2. When you think about situations about which people disagree - how to they refer to one another - with respect or derision?
3. In what ways may you demonstrate a fundamental unity with a person with whom you disagree about something?
4. Is it possible to disagree and yet be dear friends or family member?

Photo by Ronin on Unsplash