(Ephesians 2:5)  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

“…were…hath…quickened” are all in the past tense.

The past is something that I cannot change. I cannot undo the fact that I walked contrary to God, trusted in myself for righteousness, or lived a life that was pleasing to me. There is no way to undo the sins that I committed.

But the cross overcame my past. I was dead in sins but I’m no longer lifeless. I had no relationship with God but now I’m a child of God. “Dead” is a word that can no longer describe me because I encountered the power of the cross.

The empty tomb is in my past as well. I trusted the gospel and in that moment God applied the power of His resurrection life to my dead life. I became someone different. His desires became my desires. No longer driven by the world, I’m supplied by the life of God. “Alive” is the word that describes me because I encountered the power of the empty tomb.

“By grace ye are saved” is in the present. It is a statement about who I am today. I cannot change my past – I came to the cross and rose from the dead. I experienced an eternal alteration that can no more be reversed than my past can be changed. Grace applied the cross and the empty to my past…and it empowers me to live by the power of the cross and empty tomb in my present. Is there any more security than knowing that in Christ we have something that can never be undone? By grace we ARE saved!

Renewed Thought – Lord help me to always remember what you did for me in the past, live in my identity today, and keep me looking for You in the future.