Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to join the Journey podcast

with your host, Emma Daughter. Thanks for joining. Have you ever thought about how refreshing

realism is? I mean, when someone is authentic and genuine, it disarms us, giving us

permission to let our guard down. In today's Devo, Ashley reminded us that

we don't have to work our way to God, and that's a good thing, because even if we had to,

we wouldn't be able to. Now, as I studied for today's episode, I began thinking, we might be

more aware of our brokenness than humans at any point in history. And by that,

I don't think I mean our own personal brokenness. What I'm trying to get at is that I believe

we are increasingly aware of the present brokenness of our world. Think about it. From newspapers

to the radio, to news channels, to push notifications on our phone, now we can receive bad news in real time.

And the reality is there is always more bad news to be had.

There are teachers out there who make poor choices with their students.

There are dictators and perpetrators of abuse.

There are people full of fraud and deceit. We see families fall apart and

child stars go crazy. Wars break out. People starve. I mean, life in 2022 can seem pretty tragic

with just one fleeting glance at the news. But in verses 1 through 10, Paul sets the goodness of God up against

the stark backdrop of our broken and hurting world. One commentator says, against the somber background

of our world today, Ephesians 2, 1 through 10 stands out in striking relevance. Paul first plums

the depths of pessimism about man and then rises to the heights

of optimism about God. It is this combination of pessimism and optimism, of despair and faith,

which constitutes the refreshing realism of the Bible. For what Paul does in this passage is to paint

a vivid contrast between what man is by nature and

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