Death Sentence (Week 6: Bonus Devo 1)

Ephesians 2:1-2: "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient."

Everyone likes flowers. They're great for impressing a date or for sitting on a bookshelf...at least for a while. But over the course of a few days, even the most beautiful flowers start to wither. The reason behind that withering is simple: Flowers in a vase are dead.

Sure, they look good for a while. They have the appearance of life. But in the end, they are cut off at the stem, and without that link to the root, they are dead. Sure, they might show signs of life for a while, but that beauty is a lie. A wonderful lie, but a lie all the same.

This is an important spiritual truth for us to recognize. Too many people are flowers not in a garden but sitting in a vase. They may look pretty, even enhancing the beauty of the room they're sitting in, but that beauty is a lie. Though they have signs of life, they're actually spiritually dead; apart from Christ, all of us are cut off from the source of life. And it's just a matter of time until we start to show the signs of that death rather than life.

Verses like Ephesians 2:1-2 might sound at best pessimistic and at worst mean, but these are words of love from the Lord. God loves us enough to tell us the truth about ourselves. He's not content to have us acting like we're alive; He wants us to be alive. The only way that life happens is through a living and vital connection to the vine of God in Christ.

Pause and Reflect

• Why is Ephesians 2:1-2 rooted in the love of God?
• What does it mean to be spiritually alive?
• Be honest with yourself: are you a flower in a garden or a flower in a vase?