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Feb 09, 2026 06:00am

Why Pride Keeps Us From Peace—and How Jesus Restores It

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I marched up to the door, pushed it open, and was determined to wake up my mother. She worked nights, so bringing her out of her sleep during the day was like pulling a bear out of hibernation.

There had to be a pretty good reason for waking her up.

Well, there was. I had had enough of my sister, and I was going to tell Mom all about it.

When Mom finally woke up and heard my side of the story, she was mad too. I listened and watched as my mom yelled at my sister. Of course, I thought she deserved more than that, but I was proud of her finally getting into trouble and not getting away with it.

And then Mom turned to me.

Me.

Me? What did I do?

The tables had turned. Now I was in the hot seat.

Wait, wait—there must be some confusion. I’m not the guilty one here.

But I was. In all my pride, I had overlooked my own shortcomings and wrongdoings.

I wasn’t any better off than her. We were both in trouble.

But in that moment, we had the opportunity to make it right. We could both be forgiven.

Could we swallow our pride? Could we realize we were both in need of forgiveness? Could we put our stubbornness aside?

Ephesians 2:11–18
“11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”

The Jews believed they were better than the Gentiles. But the truth was, both were sinful. Circumcision had changed the Jews on the outside, but not on the inside. For centuries, rivalry and hatred existed between the two groups. Christ came to tear down that wall.

He came to bring peace.

He came to unite them for one purpose—to glorify God.

How?

Through His own sacrifice.

Scripture tells us that Christ Himself is our peace. He is the only way to receive forgiveness from the Father. We must accept His sacrifice on our behalf.

When our eyes are fixed on the cross, our differences fade. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we see how incredible God is to bring together vastly different people through His church for His glory. True unity is only possible through the love of God.

We must first recognize our sinfulness and our need for a Savior. Then we look to Christ—the only One worthy to offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Holy, holy is He.

We surrender. We repent. We confess our sin and our need for forgiveness. We declare, “Holy are You, Lord! The Way, the Truth, and the Life! You are Lord Almighty!” We place our faith in Him to save us from the penalty of sin—eternal death.

And we trust in the hope He offers: eternal life with Him in heaven. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Forgiven.
Redeemed.
Made new.
A masterpiece.
A child of God.

When you receive such a beautiful gift of grace, you can’t help but praise Him.

Look what He has done. Look what He has saved us from. Look at who I am now compared to who I once was. I was blind, but now I see. I was lost, but now I’m found.

What could I possibly offer in return?

Nothing compares to the grace of God.

All I have is my life. And I give it to You, Lord. Every breath, every word, every step, every thought—let it all be pleasing to You. Use me for Your purposes here on earth. Let my life be an offering to You, Father.

Are you ready to do the same? Consider what God has done in your life and what His Word promises for the future. Today, He offers forgiveness and peace—if we will receive it. Choose Christ today. Choose to follow Him with your life.

If you’re looking for a way to grow closer to the Lord, check out this video-based discipleship tool from Lifeword. It focuses on what Christ commanded His followers as He ascended into heaven.

“Go and make disciples.”

Visit follow.lifeword.org to begin using this free, interactive tool. Grab a friend and start today. It’s also available in Spanish at follow.lifeword.org/Spanish.