Far Off to Brought Near

/

Have you ever been hopelessly lost before?  Have you ever feared for your life?  Have you ever been so desperate that you knew you had no chance of “saving yourself?”  If you have experienced this – how often to you remember it? 

Right after Paul reminds believers that we have been saved by grace through faith and it is a gift of God and now we are God’s workmanship/His masterpiece created to do good works Paul wants us to remember where we were and who we were before Christ intervened. 

There are five specific descriptions of separation in this passage:

  1. We were separated from Christ – no Savior

  2. We were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel – no community

  3. We were strangers to the covenants – no promises

  4. We were without hope – no hope

  5. We were without God – no relationship with God

That’s not the kind of news that motivates you to “seize the day.”  Why would Paul exhort us to remember that is who we were?  Because of what comes next – when we were in this dismal state “but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (2:13).

Jesus came to take us by the hand and draw us near so that we have a Savior, a community, eternal promises, a living hope and a life-giving relationship with God.  He himself is our peace – our Shalom. 

Are you able to remember who you were?  Are you able to see who you are now?  Are you looking to Jesus as your peace?  Don’t forget – He destroys what divides us and ALL OF US together have access in one Spirit to the Father (2:18).  Run to the Father.  Run to the Father together.

See you Sunday, 
Steven