Ephesians 2:1-10 God Don’t Make No Junk!
We heard Paul’s “pep rally” last time we were together. He spoke of how GREAT our God is. Now he is going to share with his readers how special they are to God. Precious and worth every moment of His attention.
Paul begins by reminding us where we came from. EVERY one of us came from a sinful place. Some were deeper into the muck and mud than others but we were all there. Doing as we pleased for our own pleasures. We deserved nothing from God but His anger and judgement.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived” (verses 1-3a). Notice the “we all” in this passage. There are no exceptions to this statement.
But that is NOT where we stayed. Because of our AWESOME God, who loved us in spite of ourselves, we have been changed. He didn’t just love what we could become, but loved us just as we were. He knew of our condition when He looked down on us. He even loves those whom He knew would never choose Him.
Then He “put legs” to His love; Jesus’ legs to be exact. Jesus purchased our pardon on the cross. He did it as a free gift of grace. This gift is NOT something we earned in ANY way, but something HE did out of love for us.
God looked down with love, saw where we were, loved us in spite of that, offered His best, and began changing those who were willing to accept His gift into the best we could ever hope to be. He wasn’t happy with just giving us His precious gift of forgiveness. He wanted to bring out the beauty in each of us too. He, with our permission through submission, creates in us people after His own heart. People that show His love. People that walk in His precepts. People that will reach out to other hurting people and share His good news. People that reflect His glory!
This section of reading reminds me of one of my pieces. I wrote it for a group of young girls I was chaperoning during a church camp. It speaks of being His jewel. I share how He, the Master Craftsman, saw something in this ordinary piece of stone that He found worth having. He took that piece of rock, removed the ugliness, mounted it in just the right setting, and made a piece of jewelry fit for the King!
EVERYTHING He begins is valuable. He doesn’t make any junk. I may not see my own value at times but He does. He doesn’t quit until He brings out the beauty He sees in me to its fullest shine. I can trust Him with the process and rejoice because I know there is something He has in store for me. Everything He puts His hand to has a use and a purpose. That includes ME!
Father God, thank You for choosing me. Thank You for all the hard work You have invested in my life. I DO NOT deserve all You have done for me. I have NOT earned it. If anything, I have earned the “right” to be left on the workbench undone forever. I have ruined or challenged Your molding process on many occasions. But even those times have brought about beauty. You have incorporated each scar into the design crafted by Your hands. So many times You have reminded me of how You used one of my “scars” to create a point of a star in my design. You have also reminded me on MANY occasions of the story of the cracked pot that watered the flowers on the way home from the well every day. Without those flaws, that purpose would not have been possible. So thank You for all my “scars” and “cracks.” Use me as You see fit. I feel SO cherished tonight! Thank You Father.
