Ephesians 2: 1-5 reads,
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and
of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in
those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them
at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its
desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of
wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Without
Christ, I was in the worst possible state – spiritually dead, and I
deserved to stay that way. Yet God, in His love and mercy, redeemed me
through His Son. By accepting His
free gift
of salvation, I am made "alive in Christ" – gain spiritual life, which
outlasts my physical life– and allows me to belong to the family of God.
I like how the Apostle Peter describes Christians in 1 Peter 2: 9 -
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His
own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light." Ephesians 5: 6-7 also
adds, "6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he
might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus."
Further, Ephesians 2: 8-9 hits
home
that nothing I ever did, or can do, can ever save me: “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can
boast.” When I recognize that my redemption through accepting salvation
is not my doing, my response is humility.
But the most exciting part of Ephesians 2:1-10 for me as it relates to
this life is verse 10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in
Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The
passage culminates in the conclusion that God redeemeds Christians for a
purpose – not just so that we can escape hell, as glorious as that is –
but also today so that we can join in His work and live out our calling
in Christ. And, for every believer, that includes
sharing The Gospel - the story of God's Redemptive plan - with others.
The
more
I consider that I’m God’s "handiwork" (or workmanship) created to do
good works that He prepared for me to do, the more it hits home the
result of redemption in the now. In 1 Corinthians 13: 12 the apostle
Paul notes that on this earth we lack full knowledge, and will continue
to until we get to heaven. While God’s ultimate plans are revealed to us
in Scripture, and the more that we study God’s Word and walk with Him
the more that we learn about His character, purposes, and ways, there is
still much that we will never understand on this side of heaven. But
today, I know that God has a purpose for me being here and, as I seek
Him daily, He shows me what I should be doing today, and, as He wills,
tomorrow. And His plans far outweigh any that I can come up with on my
own.
For the last couple years, particularly as I’ve been continuously
reading through the Bible – through which I've come to see even more as
an awesome, mind-blowing true story of Redemption (as is said, “The
Greatest [True] Story Ever Told”), God has really revived John 10:10 as a
“life” verse (and I feel like I somehow reference in it in like, every
entry, lol). I will repeat it (again), in three versions: