slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [romans 1:30-31]
apart from Jesus Christ, who has made a way into the throne room of grace, every single one of us would stand in the presence of our Holy God having every single one of these marks against us. if not with our hands, we are guilty of each of these because we harbor them in our hearts. lovers of self. lovers of sin.
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. [ephesians 2:1-3]
sometimes i skim over this description of the former state of my soul. take a minute and sit in the reality of what you have been delivered from. ask the lord to remind you of the total depravity into which you were born!
then, let the Spirit move you to rejoice that he did not leave you in that state. let thanksgiving fill your heart in response to his endless mercy!
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, [ephesians 2:4-6]
why, we ask! why would he take undeserving corpses and breathe life and joy into them, redeeming them for himself and calling them beloved children, heirs of his eternal inheritance?
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. [ephesians 2:7-10]
he saved you and i so that the immeasurable riches of his grace might be displayed forever! he saved you and i so that we might live in the inexpressible joy of his presence and worship him with the bride for all of eternity! he saved you and i so that his glory might shine in abundance!
and this is the simple truth of the gospel:
- you were dead in your sin, with no hope of life
- God made you alive in Christ through the blood of Christ
- you are now his beloved child, to live in joy with him for all of eternity
- he did this work in you and for you so that you can rejoice in his glory forever
thank you, Father, for your steadfast love and boundless mercy toward your children. thank you for doing the work we could not do. thank you for paying the price we could not pay. thank you for the blood of Christ, who has made a way for me to stand blameless in your presence, washed clean and made righteous, to worship you forever, fully satisfied in the radiance of your glory. amen.
~ arwen eastman