Some of my favorite verses are found in today’s reading. You may know that I grew up in the Lutheran tradition, and verse 8 is a key, crucial verse for us. It is by grace that we are saved, not by the good things we have done. I used to teach songs to our children’s ministry kids that emphasized this truth. It is by grace, grace, grace, we have been saved, saved, saved, not of ourselves. It is a gift from God. The best gift of all.
What’s really cool is that God loves us in our mess. We can be going through some really rough stuff and God still loves us. He knows we aren’t strong enough to stop sinning on our own. We are flawed. We are human. Yet he loves us, and his mercy endures forever. When Paul speaks to the Ephesians of being “dead in the trespasses and sins” he is very much talking to us as well. Paul said we are made alive together with Christ. God never meant for us to be alone, struggling, feeling like we were suffocating in this cruel world. Continue reading “Ephesians 2:1-10 – Grace”
