God does love us. Can it get any better than God loving us? After all does anything else really matter? As we go into each day as we enter into each trial may we remember what Paul promises us in Ephesians 2:4: “But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us.” (God’s Word Translation)
It’s GREAT that He loves us and is RICH in mercy. Believe it or not it gets even better! Because of His great love he gives us life. In verse 5 the even better news is this: “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!)” (NLT)
Process that for a second. “even though we were dead, he gave us life. This is a real life which is a great and rich life. Although I was dead in my old life because of my selfishness, my addictions and my lack of an honest relationship with God, the death of Jesus on the cross saved me and gave me a life.
What a gift! That’s exactly what Ephesians 2:8 is telling us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” (NKJ)
The grace and mercy of God is what saves us, NOT what we do. God knows our ego and our pride. If we could “earn” this saving grace then we have the power. The fact that all of this relies on God shows He has the power and we only are asked to believe that Jesus was who He says He was and that He died for our sins. In that we have life.
God knows us after all He made us as it stated in verse 10. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV) Even better…He says in verse 22 that He built us to be a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit… “to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Yes, it just keeps getting better. His love is awesome and His saving grace gave us life. He built us to live a Spirit filled life that is a great life that is filled with love and grace. He LIVES in us.
Do you know God loves you? Can you accept Jesus’ death on the cross as enough to save you? Is your heart filled with His love and His Spirit? Will others see this love and this spirit in us? May the love and spirit that fills us flow out to others. What else do you see in Ephesians 2?
Thank you God for Your love, Your grace, and Your Spirit. Good work!
Tom Raines
Christian Affirmations 4 Life
Great post, Tom. Thank you.
Thank you Meg!
John 3:16 gets richer and richer the older I get.
So true Bill. Rich and deep!! Thanks for stopping in!
So often when we’re neck deep in addiction we don’t see that love. I’m praying He’ll keep me focused and aware of His great love for me. Wonderful post Tom
Thank you Robin. I join you in prayer that we will be keenly aware of His great love for you. Lord give us focus and confident faith in Your love. Thank you for your love for us!