But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by Grace!
Ephesians 2:4-5 (CSB)
Using “but” in a sentence places a condition on the entirety of a sentence, causing everything before the ‘but’ to be negated. At Christmas a few years back, a family member said to me, “Thank you for the gift, but this is not what I asked for.” Talk about a gut punch. I offered a gift to them knowing this is what they needed, rather than what they wanted, further enabling bad habits. This situation took me awhile to process, and if I’m honest, I’m still not over it. Nobody enjoys feeling not good enough, especially over what I perceived to be a thoughtful gift. When I think about the emotions surrounding this situation, I feel the anger well up inside me and the embarrassment of rejection. This was the last time I bought this person a gift for Christmas.
Recently though, I’ve been stopped in my tracks—my self-righteous, prideful tracks. What if this was how God treated us when we reject his gift of grace and mercy, his gift of his only Son sent to shoulder the weight of the wrath that was meant for us? “But God, who is rich in mercy…” knew exactly what we needed to prevent us from furthering the chaos of our lives. He sent Jesus, a divine human to pursue us regardless of how many times we reject him. Humbly, he came as a babe in a manger, and humbly he would die on the cross. Jesus understands the hurtfulness of rejection.
Paul begins Ephesians chapter two by highlighting the death awaiting us due to the inclinations of our human desires. But God loved us so much and saw our worth instead of our sin. But God knew we needed a savior. But God continues to pursue us regardless of our rejection toward him and his gifts. God who is rich in mercy, negates everything before the “but.”
