August 10: Thoughts on Ephesians 2:4-5

"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

This was a common issue for me when I first started thinking about God and salvation. First I had to wrap my mind around the fact that I wasn't as good as everyone told me I was.

After I had come to terms with the fact that I was fallen and sinful, it radically changed how I thought of myself. When I first heard Jesus died for me and my sins on the Cross, I was like, "No, no, no, God, take it back. I'm so not worth all that trouble. Seriously. Just let me die. I deserve it." And I really wondered why the God of Heaven - the greatest Being in all the universe - would do something like that for ME.

I knew I wasn't basically good or special or unique or perfect or any of those things they try to tell you that you are in those terrible "self-esteem" talks they give you in school. We just aren't those things. We all sin. We all fall short.

So my question was, okay, so I fell short. Fine, I get that. But why does God want to stoop down and fix it when I've messed it up so badly?

The answer? "because of his great love for us"

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). It tells us that God loved people so much that He sent Jesus to die for us (John 3:16). Not because we deserved it, because I can promise you we didn't, but because He loved us anyway. He is "rich in mercy," which means He loves us and gives to us even though we don't deserve it.

"made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions"

This is a contrast isn't it. We were dead, but now we're alive! Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we're raised from the dead spiritually. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ (Romans 6:23). Why? Again, not because we're worthy of it, but because "by grace [we] are saved."

Grace is related to the Latin word gratis, which means free. In other words, our salvation is not something we can achieve on our own but a free gift - no strings attached - that we get from God. That doesn't mean we get off scot-free after we're saved though.

God still expects us to do good things and behave ourselves, because faith without works is dead (James 2:26) - and we are gloriously alive, so we should act like it. How? By doing good works - helping others, feeding the poor, spreading the Gospel, giving to the Lord, and living a holy life to the best of our ability (Romans 12:1-2).

What has the Lord done for you this week? What have you done for Him?