Made Alive

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” ~Ephesians 2:4-5

I thought it was dead. When our very kind next door neighbor first brought over this beautiful orchid plant to welcome us to the neighborhood it was bursting with color and height.  I wanted to be diligent in caring for it so I sought out a couple of tips that seemed simple enough for even the most gardening-challenged. The orchid bloomed for weeks and then stopped.

Soon the leaves looked tired and weak. In my mind the plant was dead so I began to treat it that way.  I stopped caring for it figuring it was a waste of my time.  It certainly wasn’t the first time I’d killed a plant so there was no surprise there. The day came that I tired of looking at this sad little pot of dead leaves so I picked it up and headed for the backyard to throw it away. On the way I passed through the kitchen and looked up at the little window spot above the sink. The sun was shining beautifully and that little ledge looked bare. I placed the orchid plant there thinking to myself that it couldn’t get any more dead than it was so it was worth a shot.  A couple of weeks later I was taken aback to see life where I least expected to.  One tiny new leaf was making its way, breaking through the space where all the death had previously been.

And this is grace.  When all we can see is death in our lives and our relationships, when it feels like we have given all that we have with no growth to show for it, Jesus sees life. Because Jesus IS life.  He raises the dead, not just in our favorite Bible stories, but in our daily lives as well.  Nothing is ever beyond His reach, especially the hearts of His beloved children.  He will never treat us as if we are dead, His time is never wasted on us.  Instead He bled and died and returned to life purposefully to be our source and strength.