Atheists

"You were without God in the world," Ephesians 2:12.
Without God. Godless. Atheists. (That's what it really says, atheists.) What's a godless person, anyway? Is it someone who doesn't believe in God? having no scruples? without moral compass? somebody worthy of contempt? scorn? Maybe so in customary use. But Scripture connects godless, instead, with being cut off from God. Having no hope. Having no tomorrow worth living today for. Discouraged, peering ahead only to an empty void. Lives of quiet desperation, someone said. No joy. So, to be scorned? not a bit - rather, to be pitied. And thus were we all. But now Christ has come preaching peace - through his blood-sacrifice. He ended hostilities against God (and each other). He brought us near to God. He created us new in God. He gave access to God. He gave citizenship in God's presence. He integrated us into God's very own dwelling place. No longer God-less, now God-full. Hopeful.
As we consider Christ's action we recognize today's troubles are well worth tomorrow's joy. We give thanks. Might you share your living hope with a brother or sister, or an atheist, today?