“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:1-10
It’s Spring; the first day of Spring to be exact! On this Spring day what better thing to contemplate than God’s grace and His love which is renewed every morning of every season. As we can see here, Paul is making a strong contrast between who we were and who we are now in Christ. Once we walk in the darkness of winter now we walk in the light of a glorious Spring.
Paul was reflecting on our great need for salvation—describing how we were “dead in our sin and trespasses,” when the Gospel came to us. “But God…” tells us that we couldn’t get relief from the winter with personal resolve and reform. We needed resurrection grace and a righteousness by faith that only comes by having been elected as one of His own before the foundations of the world. And then in time and space “at just the right time” we responded by faith to that decision by the Godhead because “(He) made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The God of glory met that need through Jesus Christ our Lord who died and then rose again on the third day to life that we might have life abundantly and eternally.
Now, no matter how desperate our situation, how bleak our world, how uncertain our future, or how out-of-control things “feel”—this paragraph starting at “But God…” defines our story, and our lives. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us…”
Whether our burden is a loved one’s struggle, a personal health/heart/home issues, a lingering shame or a looming fear…no matter if there’s no resolution in sight, or relief within reach, because of what God has done for us by Jesus, these things we trustworthy and true:
1. “But God” now claims all of our challenges, crises, and failures until heaven.
2. He is rich in mercy. “But God, being rich in mercy…”
3. God has such great love for us. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”
4. God’s love is seen and known through our salvation, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
So on this first day of Spring I want to give thanks for these and so much more. Without that “But God…”we would still be in a winter of despair never quite achieving our greatest need. “But God being rich and mercy with a great love, made us alive with Christ” who rose on that first Easter morning that we might be raised to glory with Him. What an amazing truth on this first day of Spring!
