You know how many times I've read Ephesians 2:8-9? Well, let's be honest, they're Awana verses which is probably why they're imbedded in my brain. I am pretty sure I don't remember the last time I read the verses leading up to those though. I suppose the concept of this is probably a given to the rest of you, but to me the simplicity of this passage was both convicting and humbling.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with Him..."
I guess the part that always amazes me about the God we serve is that he's not a God about tomorrow. He's not a God about getting it done later. He's not a God wishing for us to clean up our act. The kind of God we serve is the God that meets us in the midst of our sin and believes in us to be changed through Him. He looks at us with X-ray vision seeing us how he made us to be and loving us despite our actions.
I think if I were to be completely honest, my current job allows me to easily take root in the self-righteous state. It's easy to forget where we've come from or just how sinful we are. When you compare yourself to a murderer or child molester, suddenly you start patting yourself on the back, giving yourself one more 'attaboy'. The truth is, we are all one poor choice away from being on the opposite side of those bars.
I think if we had a prison for hearts, a lot more of us would find ourselves behind bars. Sure you might not be in the local county jail in the physical form, but how much more dangerous is the imprisonment of our hearts? A dead heart has forgotten what it truly means to love. When we start to dissect the grace of God, we see that it is directly fueled by love, as are all of the actions of God. My goal today is to remember the grace in my life so that I can in turn be the grace and love in the lives of others.
"For by GRACE you have been saved..."
