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 in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
– Ephesians 2:1-3
Before we can truly appreciate what God has done for us, we need to remember where we came from. We were dead in our sins. Not sick. Not struggling. Not just a little lost. Spiritually dead. We were following the ways of the world without even realising it, carried along by patterns of thinking and living that were completely out of step with God. We thought we were doing what we wanted, but Paul says we were actually following the lead of Satan and the spiritual forces opposed to God. Whether we knew it or not, we were living for ourselves and not for our Creator.
That might sound harsh, but it’s the truth we all need to face. And Paul includes himself in this too—he says “we all once lived this way.” No one is exempt. This is the starting point for every believer’s story. But this hard truth is also what makes the message of grace so powerful. When we realise just how lost we were, we begin to see how amazing it is that God didn’t leave us there. He saw us in our deadness and loved us anyway. That’s where grace begins—not when we clean ourselves up, but when we’re still helpless, and God steps in to save.
Prayer
Lord, help me never to forget how far Your grace has reached to save me. Remind me that I was dead in my sins, and it was You who brought me life. Keep me humble, grateful, and aware of my utter dependence on You. Amen.
Meditation
Do I truly see the seriousness of my sin apart from Christ, or do I tend to minimise what I’ve been saved from?