Northview Blog Tear Down That Wall: Reconnecting with Christ in Troubled Times April 15, 2020 The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, Germany. While famous in its own right, Americans might better remember it because of one the most famous speeches in American history. In his speech on June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged Mikael Gorbachov to “Tear down this wall.” The wall separated the free democracy of West Berlin from the Soviet-ruled and communist East Berlin. In President Reagan’s speech, he said (paraphrased), “If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity and if you seek liberation, open this gate, tear down this wall.”In these unanticipated times that none of us has experienced in history, we—as believers in Christ—should be totally grateful for the walls that separate us from our identity in Christ to be torn down in front of our eyes. Like those who were separated from family members for decades by a concrete structure, we should rejoice that an unlikely and invisible predator like COVID-19 would tear down the walls of our independence from Jesus Christ to our calling on Him for our true Hope and our true Future. It’s been said for years that you will never remove prayer from public schools until you remove the tests. So it is with our fickle and often fake faith. It’s the heat of the moment when we think back on where we come from and what we are all about and who we really need to turn to in times of despair.What separates the grain from the stalk is the thrashing or beating of the sheaves. Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) says, “As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.” To strengthen the steel of a blade, the metal is forged over a blazing fire. Are we understanding this? The best part of us, the refined part of us, comes after much pain and much suffering.As COVID-19 tears down our walls of independence to a new and sincere dependence on Christ, let’s imagine how amazing that reunion can be. Like the families reunited in Berlin, Jesus is standing there, arms wide open, forgiving us for forgetting Him and welcoming us back into His presence. We can thank this confusing virus for returning us to an opportunity for unmeasurable peace, prosperity, and liberation. by Jeff Pinyot Spiritual Growth Relationships Self