“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
So we were dead. All the way dead in our sins. Couldn’t help ourselves any more than a dead guy can answer the phone. Worse: We were “objects of wrath” doomed for hell apart from God because of our sin. Hopeless and doomed.
Then these two verses called out to us like a would-be rescuer trying to talk a jumper off of a ledge – like that voice stopping Abraham from dropping the knife into Isaac’s chest. God would not leave us dead and doomed. He loved us too deeply. He’s got mercy in banks all over the universe. He would not let us slide off into the eternity we have earned.
He did what we could not: He “made us alive with Christ.” At the last minute, he provided another way. A ram caught in the bush. A sinless Jesus strapped into our seat on execution day. In response only to our faith in Jesus, he made us like Jesus on Easter morning – living and breathing even though we’d been spiritually dead dead dead.
Think: What would be a reasonable response to a gift like this one? Why do most of us NOT respond that way most of the time?
Pray: Thank God for making you spiritually alive when you could not even breathe toward him on your own.
Do: Look up the definition of grace in two or three online dictionaries. Write one down on a sticky note or something and put it somewhere you’ll have to see it all day long.