On Sunday, I got a chance to preach on this text in Ephesians. A wonderful text. Really, an easy text to preach. Paul writes, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world..."
It is hard to argue with Paul's prognosis of the "course of this world". We see it all around us, every day.
And it would make a lot of sense to be discouraged by the course of this world, by what we see in the news... But I think there's a lot of hope in this text, as well. The only problem is that it can be hard to see.
Yes, this world is falling apart. Yes, the problems are real and substantial.
"BUT GOD" (verse 4)
But God was not content with the prognosis. God course corrected. God stepped in, with mercy and grace. And that grace, through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, has the power to actually make a dead thing live again.
And that grace is yours. You have newness of life in Jesus. And not only that, but you have the power to share that grace with others.
Now you are a course corrector. You are God's tangible grace for this world, for your family, for your community, for your neighbor.