And you were dead in the trespasses
and sins in which you once walked...
But God...
Ephesians 2:1-2a, 4a
As I write this I am both encouraged and disheartened by the events of this past week. I have been encouraged by the growing community I am seeing in the Thursday evening Bible study I have the privilege to facilitate. Yet even as I celebrate the joy of fellowship I am met with the jarring juxtaposition of a teenager who in a rampage wrought with evil has gunned down numerous faculty and students, shattering a community at a high school in Parkland, Florida. My mind is unable to comprehend all of it at once. Pain and promise intermingle in sharp contrast within my soul.
My mind is continually drawn to the images of grief I've only heard about because I just don't want to see it with my eyes. Yet I do see it. My heart breaks. And I am reminded...we all need a Savior. Every last one of us. Me included. I would be the angry, bitter gunman if it weren't for Christ. I know it. Because, you see, without Christ I know I would be utterly broken.
On Thursday evening I admired a young woman as she poured out her heart over her own brokenness. It was beautiful yet hard to contemplate at the same time. My heart broke for her while it rejoiced to see her moving toward Jesus, encountering the healing balm that is able restore her soul.
In his letter to the Ephesians Paul describes these new believer's former lifestyle, "you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked..." (Ephesians 2:1-3) Paul, in one of his letters to his protege, the young apprentice Timothy, describes what looks eerily like the present day circumstances in which we find ourselves. This, perhaps, is what we understand "dead in the trespasses and sins" to look like today.
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days
there will be very difficult times. For people will love only
themselves and their money. They will be boastful and
proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and
ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be
unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have
no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up
with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will
act religious, but they will reject the power that
could make them godly. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT)
I see the mass shooter in these words. I see the bully up the street. I see what I could have been (and what I was once accused of my mother as being). We've all experienced either the sin of other people or our own sin or most likely, a combination of the two trying to beat hope from our equation. We've watched the beautiful become crushed and broken. "You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked." Dead. Talk about hopeless!!!
We would find ourselves completely without hope except that Paul interjects the tiny phrase "but God" and everything changes. (Ephesians 2:4) Instead of death, mercy and love overflow to life. That's a dramatic change! So how does this transformation come to be, you ask? One word. Believe. Paul continues:
For it was only through this wonderful grace that we
believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this
salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought
us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for
salvation is never a reward for good works or human
striving. (Ephesians 2:8-9 TPT)
We can't earn access to God's kingdom by our own means. Let me say that again. We can't earn access to God's kingdom by our own means. It isn't that we're not motivated. It's that we're not able. (I also happen to think we're really not motivated either. If we're honest, we think doing things for our own glory is pretty incredible.) It would be an utterly hopeless situation if God had not intervened with His remarkable gift. Paul tells his Roman readers:
The solution to mass shootings isn't in gun control. It's not in treatment for the mentally ill or imbalanced. It's not even taking a holistic approach to reforms. I've heard so many arguments. And there is truth to be found in many of them. But really the thought that comforts my soul is that only real transformation heals the brokenness that lead to horrific scenes of mass carnage. It is in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ that real transformation begins. We are remiss if we think that mere physical and psychological manipulation of laws and treatments will change anything. Let's not forget that we aren't able to earn access to the kingdom of God, to perfection, any way but through the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul puts it this way a few verses beyond where we've been ruminating. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13) We were far off, but in Jesus we have been made close, personal part of a community of those who believe...believe in Jesus Christ as the only Savior able to institute real transformation.
You may recall that my initial thoughts as I looked at last week were over the beautiful brokenness of a young woman. Her brokenness stands in stark contrast to the brokenness of the teenager bent on evil.
She allowed herself to share her brokenness peacefully in a community that was safe, a place of refuge carved out by the Holy Spirit. He sought to violently crush the seemingly safe community through what can only be interpreted as revenge.
She allowed Jesus to speak life into her. He, unhappy with his own condition, stole life from the innocent.
She listened to the life-giving words of those who love her. He listened to the raging anger that boiled within him.
The only blood that need be spilled was already spilled for you. Take His life-giving blood poured out for you. It is a gift.
Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture
around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy
Spirit through a total reformation of how you think.
This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live
a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.
(Romans 12:2 TPT)
Notice that I highlighted "by the Holy Spirit" in the verse above. God Himself provides the ability that we lack on our own.The solution to mass shootings isn't in gun control. It's not in treatment for the mentally ill or imbalanced. It's not even taking a holistic approach to reforms. I've heard so many arguments. And there is truth to be found in many of them. But really the thought that comforts my soul is that only real transformation heals the brokenness that lead to horrific scenes of mass carnage. It is in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ that real transformation begins. We are remiss if we think that mere physical and psychological manipulation of laws and treatments will change anything. Let's not forget that we aren't able to earn access to the kingdom of God, to perfection, any way but through the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul puts it this way a few verses beyond where we've been ruminating. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13) We were far off, but in Jesus we have been made close, personal part of a community of those who believe...believe in Jesus Christ as the only Savior able to institute real transformation.
You may recall that my initial thoughts as I looked at last week were over the beautiful brokenness of a young woman. Her brokenness stands in stark contrast to the brokenness of the teenager bent on evil.
She allowed herself to share her brokenness peacefully in a community that was safe, a place of refuge carved out by the Holy Spirit. He sought to violently crush the seemingly safe community through what can only be interpreted as revenge.
She allowed Jesus to speak life into her. He, unhappy with his own condition, stole life from the innocent.
She listened to the life-giving words of those who love her. He listened to the raging anger that boiled within him.
The only blood that need be spilled was already spilled for you. Take His life-giving blood poured out for you. It is a gift.
...knowing that you were ransomed from the
futile ways inherited from your forefathers,
not with perishable things such as silver or
gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19
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