Ephesians 2:1-10 (Salvation Summary)

I must be frank with you.  Today is a difficult day for me.  My mom died two years ago today from cancer, and sometimes the pain is so intense that I can't imagine going on without her for another 60 years, if the Lord would have me live that long.  But what I have been reminding myself all week, and I'm sure what I will continue to tell myself all day and for the next 60 years, is that I do not have to lose hope! 

Our family's favorite verse during the back-to-back death of my grandma and then my mom was 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, "Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  This is the HOPE we have!  (Maybe the next book we study should be 2 Cor....that is good stuff).

And I love that this verse that means so much to me today ties in with where we are in Ephesians.  If you do not have this section marked in your Bible, mark it.  Our passage for today I have labeled in my Bible "Salvation Summary."  This is the whole picture of what really matters: (underlines mine)

"Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins.  You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air.  He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.  All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature.  We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God's anger just like everyone else.  

But God, so rich in mercy, and He loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.  (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!)  For He raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms--all because we are one with Christ Jesus.  And so God can always point to us examples of the incredible wealth of His favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us through Jesus Christ.  

God saved you by His special favor when you believed.  And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."

And it's because of this gift of salvation, from the Lord who loves me, that I am promised eternal life in heaven, where I know my incredible mom is right this very moment, and I will join her there one day in the presence of Jesus.

So, "we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever."

Amen.