God's Amazing Love

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 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. 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. 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 2:1-5 NIV)

No matter how many times I read this passage (and it has been hundreds), it still grabs me.  I think of my early life and how I used others and lived for myself.  I think of the hatred that resided in my heart for a number of high school classmates, the lust that infiltrated my adolescent mind, and the sense of entitlement that led me to steal from my employer.  
A lot of people told me then that I was a good person.  It felt good to hear it, but deep down I knew the truth.  I knew who I really was and I was without hope.  But then I began to learn about Jesus and of His great love for me.  To think the God of the universe could love such a person still boggles my mind.  That type of love can be transformative if we can just accept it.  But it is very hard to do.

To accept it means we acknowledge our true selves—sinners to the core, deserving eternal death rather than life.  We have to acknowledge we have earned nothing but judgment.  In other words, we must humble ourselves, swallow our pride, and throw ourselves upon the mercy of God.  

This flies in the face of what we are taught and what we would like to believe—that basically we are good with a few imperfections.  The truth is no one is good but God (Luke 18:19).  The rest of us, as Paul says, are by nature deserving of God’s wrath.  This is the truth and what makes God’s love so amazing and so meaningful.

Every day I try to remember who I was before I came to know Jesus. After so many years of following Him, it is tempting to forget, tempting to think I have earned His favor.  But the reality of my sinful nature reveals itself daily.  Though I am a new creation in Christ, the old man is not completely dead yet.  Apart from God’s grace, I would still be deserving of God’s wrath.  This fact humbles me and makes me so thankful for the love I’ve been shown.  

Today, reflect on the depth of your sin.  This is an exercise not intended to deepen your guilt, but to deepen your gratitude for something you do not deserve—God’s amazing love!

© Jim Musser 2014