Contemplative Bible Reading

Ephesians 2:12 (New Living Translation)

You lived in this world without God and without hope.

This is the last sentence of the verse. The writer is reminding Christians what life was like without God—it was a life without hope. The writer provides several examples of life without God.

• Far from God
• Far from peace
• No unity, constant enmity
• Hostile barriers between everyone
• Burdensome regulations
• Open hostility
• No access to God

Okay, anyone want those things back in their lives? I don’t. Well, at least when I am in my right mind and my heart is not troubled, I don’t want those things. On other days, I have this twisted sense of what I want and why I want it and what I want to do and all those and many other twisted desires.

Go back to life without God? Sigh. No thank you.