God’s lavish love is poured out all over us. We have been chosen by God through the work of Christ, adopted as sons and daughters of God, and brought near to the Father through faith in His Son.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:4-10, NLT)
| GOD | BELIEVERS |
| God is LOVE, rich in compassion & mercy (4) | We are dead in our sins (5) |
| Through Christ we are saved by His grace who defeated death & is now alive & exalted in heaven (5-6) | God united us into the life of Christ & saved us, so we are already given the power & authority to overcome evil (5-6) |
| Our salvation comes from Jesus Christ (7) | We are living displays of God’s love & grace (7) |
| Our salvations is free gift from God when we believe, & He gives us faith when we believe (8) | We cannot earn salvation so there’s not reason to boast or brag. No matter how hard we try, we can never be good enough (8-9) |
| God created each one of us as a beautiful poem, planned our very form, being, & purpose (10) | Each of us is a masterpiece, a poem created by God, and He has a apurpose for ever one of us (10) |
I love the idea that I am a poem (one translation for the Greek word in verse 10). In a poem, each word has meaning and depth of purpose. So do I.
For my TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE, I am asking the Holy Spirit to help me notice someone who needs a word love and grace or a blessing. Every day.
Pray with me: Lord, what kind of masterpiece of a poem did you design me to be? Am I a haiku, metered verse, a limerick, a nursery rhyme, or an ode? Whatever the form, I am Your creation, made out of Your love and grace. You not only wrote this poem, because You loved it (me) so much, You saved it so that I could be in Your presence. May my words, lines, and meter reflect your love. Amen
Kathleen S Evenhouse 