By: Pastor Johnie Akers
Ephesians 2:4, 5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickeneth us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved.)” “What was I thinking?” Have those words ever crossed your lips as you witness the outcome of a not-so-great idea that you thought had been conceived in brilliance? I am sure we all have had those moments. Chuck Swindoll in his book, Growing in the Seasons of Life, gives the prize for the most useless weapon of all times to the Russians during World War II. They invented the “dog mine.” The Russians’ plan was to train dogs to associate food with the undersides of tanks, in the hope that they would run hungrily under German Panzer divisions. The dogs had bombs strapped to their backs. Once under the tanks, the bomb’s triggering mechanism would come in contact with the metal of the German tanks, resulting in a disabling explosion. Unfortunately, because the dogs were trained using Russian tanks, the dogs only associated food with Russian tanks. The plan was begun on the first day of the Russian involvement of World War II and abandoned on day two. The dogs with bombs on their backs forced an entire Russian division to retreat. Well, I’ve made a number of bonehead blunders in life as well that rank right up there with the dog mine. But in spite of myself I keep encountering a most remarkable, undeserving, unfathomable factor—God’s grace. In our Scripture lesson today, Apostle Paul recounts in the first three verses of Ephesians 2 the wantonness that had been associated with the Christians at Ephesus prior to their conversion to Christ. Such depravity was not uncommon in the Roman world at that time. Yet in spite of themselves, God’s mercy and grace became the dominating factor in their lives. Likewise, His grace is extended to you today. No matter what blunders you have made in life, through the power of the cross of Christ you can be forgiven and live in His mercy and grace with each new day.
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