“It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.”
Ephesians 2:1-6: MSG – A verse of the day from the Bible presented in Eugene Peterson’s contemporary version called The Message. Accompanied by a personal reflection below.
“Immense in mercy and with an incredible love!”  That is how God is being described here by Paul.  This is truly a love that is incomprehensible, don’t you think?  This is not just a God who is immense in mercy, but on top of mercy — which is huge in and of itself — there’s love too?  I mean, who does that?!  But that’s what’s unique about this God, don’t you see, gentle reader?  This is a God that loves you to the point of taking upon Himself all your sin — which is both forgiveness and love in action  — and then assures you of eternal life.   I hope and trust you will take a moment to consider this.
