All of us lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. But God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ.

Ephesians 2:3-5

The whole wave of action and direction of Paul’s letter leads us toward the justifiable wrath of God. We deserve God’s wrath. We deserve to pay for our sins and for offending God. That’s what we would expect from any human person. However, Paul then changes direction completely with two simple words: But God.

While from any human being we would expect to be paid back for our sins or treated as we treated them, God acts differently. When we offended God, God didn’t pay us back, he brought us back. He brought us back to life to life through the death and resurrection of his Son. 

Thank God today that he doesn’t treat you as you deserve but instead has brought you back to life through Christ.