Ephesians 2:5
“made us alive with Christ even we being dead in trespasses–by grace you are saved–“
God worked hard to redeem us. The return wasn't great either. Meaning many don't respond to His offer of grace. Matthew 7:14 says, "But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it." This is very difficult for Him. His Son died for all, but most seem to ignore His offer.
There was a time or two when God said He regretted that He made man. I'm sure this great experiment with free will was tough, as it meant that some would not choose Him. The death of His Son was wasted on many.
However, He thought it worth it to have the few of us who trust Him. We weren't attractive or great. I Corinthians 1:26,27 says, "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong." I love it. His style is awesome.
We were dead in our sin. Meaning we were separated from Him with no hope. He got our attention and we cried for help. He redeemed us. He made us alive. This was a big deal. He cleansed our sin and gave us a new nature. One that desires His way. Sin has its appeal on occasion, but our new nature hates it. We want to avoid it.
Paul introduces grace. It was the manner by which we were saved. We didn't earn it. Because of His great love for us, He does so for free. Romans 5:10 paints an even blacker background, it says that God did this while we were His enemies. We see this hostility while Jesus was on earth. It was so strong that He was put Him to death for not going with the establishment.
We were living selfishly enslaved in our sin. Romans 1:21 says our foolish minds were darkened. We were on a path that we thought was best for us. Yet it was walking in the dark on a slippery plank over the abyss (Psalm 73:18). But grace sent out invitations. Even though we were hostile to You, Your grace saved us. We now can share the good news with others. We were the walking dead. Now we've been redeemed. Thank You.