| “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…” |
| —Ephesians 2:4 |
As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have many reasons to be filled with joy and to express that joy by doing good deeds that touch the lives of others. When I read what some of my friends are doing to extend God’s love to the people around them, I am greatly encouraged. In fact, I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-10:
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.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
I am greatly humbled to realize that the good works my dear friends perform, as they reach out to those in need, were prepared in advance by God for them to do. That should cause great joy to well up within their hearts.
Each kind word, each act of grace, each expression of God’s love, each act of mercy is a testimony to the ultimate act of mercy, grace, and love that Christ gave us on Calvary’s cruel cross. Our Savior’s birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension give us the strongest possible example of what it means to fulfill God’s perfect will.
Let us celebrate this day the awesome privilege we have to touch the lives of others in the blessed Name of our Savior and Lord. And, let us bask in the joy that true obedience brings us, whenever we do those good works that He has prepared for us to do.
Based on a post from Tuesday, March 3, 2015
