“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:4-10)  The German poet, Heinrich Heine probably spoke for a lot of us when he observed, “I like to sin, God likes to forgive.  Really, the world is admirably arranged.”  He speaks for one of the temptations that you and I face: that coming to realize that we are saved only by grace, we cheapen it by our failure to live in the full light of God’s loving intervention.  Paul has two crucial points here (as should all the rest of us): we are dead in our sin; we can do nothing to save ourselves.  But our gracious and loving Lord has redeemed us.  Second, realizing that we are dead now allows us to realize that the same amazing grace brings to us a new life.  The same Lord who loves us enough to save us from death also love us enough to transform us.  Grace that is powerful enough to destroy the past is powerful enough to grant a new future.  How is Christ calling you to live a new life in the days to come?