July 5 THE UNIFIER "But now in union with Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood" (Ephesians 2:13, NEB). During the Vietnam war, while engaged in a heated campaign for the presidency of the United States of America, Richard M. Nixon told the moving story of a little girl who appeared at one of his campaign rallies with a sign that urged, "Bring us together again." Given the alienation caused by the war, Mr. Nixon seized the opportunity to transform the slogan into a powerful campaign appeal that won him the presidency of the USA. The fall of man ushered in a reign of hostility and alienation. It separated man from God and man from man. To save a fragmenting planet from self-destruction, Jesus, the unifier, intervened in human history. As the apostle Paul puts it: "You who once were far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood" (Ephesians 2:13, NEB). We, who were once aliens, Christless, hopeless, and far away, are now fully integrated into the family of God. Only Christ's precious blood has the power to change our distance into nearness, our fragmentation into oneness, and our enmity into friendship. Augustus M. Toplady, author of the universally-loved hymn, "Rock of Ages," was converted by hearing a moving sermon on Ephesians 2:13 preached by an ordinary workman in a humble barn. The message of Christ's reconciling blood radically changed Toplady's life forever. "Christ gave up all in order that He might bring salvation to every people, nation, and tongue. He bridged the gulf that sin had made, in order that through His merits man might be reconciled to God."--Sowing Beside Still Waters, p. 55. My Prayer Today: Lord, through Your precious blood, I who was afar off have been brought near. Thank You for Your nearness. Amen.