Ephesians 2:1-7

I told my kids in Children in Worship last week that the reason we have six weeks of Lent is we need that time to get ready for the miracle that is Easter. I’m so grateful for those long weeks of thinking and praying, of contemplating, of giving up, of doing without, knowing that the deprivation will end.

Lent so often focuses on what you give up, on what you can’t do. But the reality is Lent is the time to refocus, to remember everything good, to rejoice that the sun’s light shines longer each day, that the air feels warmer.

I was reminded of that while reading Ephesians 2:1-10. My first thought, was wow, here is the passage that transformed Martin Luther. Here is the foundation of our Reformed faith. While we were in the darkness of selfishness and sin, God saved us. Here is Lent in a nutshell. It’s our nature to transgress, but we are called to turn, to reform, to have faith, to embrace God’s grace, to live as grateful people.

—Kristine Bradfield