But…God!
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-5
“4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4-5 (New International Version)
In verses one through three, Paul painted a bleak picture of how lost and hopeless we were before coming to faith in Christ. We were dead because of our sins, but God. We were rebels against Him, but God. We were enslaved by the devil and our sinful natures, but God. “But…God” may be the two most welcome words in all of Scripture. They show that even though what came before them was negative, what comes after – because of God showing up – will be positive. God could have left us spiritually dead, in rebellion against Him, and in bondage to our sins, but He didn’t. He did not save us because of – but rather in spite of – what He saw in us.
In verses four through five, we see where hope came into the picture. Here, Paul is saying that we do not need to live any longer under sin’s power. The penalty of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23), and its power over us were miraculously destroyed by Jesus on the cross. Through faith in Christ, we now stand acquitted – not guilty – before God (Romans 3:21-22).
God doesn’t take us out of the world or make us like robots who can do nothing but what we were programmed to do. We will still feel like sinning, and we will still sin. The difference is that before we started following Jesus, we were dead in sin and were slaves to our sinful nature. But now we are alive with Christ and have His help to avoid sin and live with real joy and freedom.
Prayer:
God, I thank you for showing up. I thank you that when I look back at my past sins and mistakes, I can confidently say “but…God” and remember that I am no longer there. I can say, “but…God” and know that I am different, changed, redeemed, and on a new path towards becoming more like Jesus. I pray that you would continue giving all of us these “but…God” moments so we can continue to be in awe of you and the way you work in our lives.
In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!
