There’s a But

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, reflecting on his imprisonment in a Russian gulag, wrote, “When I lay there on rotting prison straw, it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts. Even in the best of all hearts there remains an un-uprooted small corner of evil.”

Even in the best of all human hearts. That sounds a lot like something Paul said in Ephesians 2:1 – 3. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 

Every single human has either missed the mark or crossed the line. No one has performed to a qualifying standard. Not you. Not me. Not Mother Teresa. Not Billy Graham. Not Pope Francis. No one. We are all deserving of wrath.

Look at the first word in vs. 4; “But.”

That’s an ugly little word. It’s short. It isn’t pretty on the page. It looks like it got stung by a bee or had a bad reaction to Botox. It doesn’t even sound nice. It is, however, a very stout word. Here’s a story barreling down the tracks toward an inevitable conclusion, and all of a sudden that little word – “but” – throws a lever and the story reaches a different destination.

That word meant a lot to me a few years ago when I received a call from one of the boys. I was hours and hours and hours away from home when I got a call about 10 o’clock at night. A very calm voice on the other end said, “Dad, I’ve had a wreck. The car is totaled, . . . .”

Wait for it . . . . . .

“. . . but I’m okay.”

The Bible likes the word “but.”

Genesis 7 ends this way; The waters flooded the earth for a 150 days. Genesis 8 begins this way; But God remembered Noah. 

In Acts 7, Stephen reminded the crowd that Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt. Then he added, “But God was with him.

When he preached to Cornelius in Acts 10, Peter told him, “They killed Jesus by hanging him on a cross. But God raised him.” 

In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul described how worn out he was, how he had been harassed at every turn and endured conflicts on the outside and fears within. Then he said, “But God comforted us.”

So, yes, we all have a corner of un-uprooted evil in our hearts. We’ve all sinned and fallen short.

But there’s a but: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4, 5).

Because of God’s great love, your story, mine, everyone’s can reach a different destination. That’s a beautiful thing to remember today when you reflect on the cross.