Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross
got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came
and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He
treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share
the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father. Ephesians 2:16-18 (TM)

When Jesus chose His 12 disciples, He picked a motley crew who would not have gotten along well. There were those on the radical political right who believed in armed uprising against the Roman government, and those on the radical left who were "in bed" with Rome. There were disciples on the far ends of the socio-economic spectrum of that day. Why? Because His mission was the cross, and "The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of hostility." Jesus came to bring love and salvation across all of these barriers.

The man who penned these words was Paul – a fanatical, religious Jew who had persecuted Christians and had them killed for a living. A man who used to be known as Saul and who, before he met Jesus, began each day thanking God he wasn’t a gentile (a non-Jew), was now embracing the gentiles – treating them as equals – and giving his very life to share with them Jesus’ love.

As followers of Christ, I’m called to love. I’m called to forgive. I’m called to look beyond my pre-conceived notions, my human perspectives and my ingrained hatreds – and see Jesus in each person I meet.