The sonnet, titled “Even When We Were Dead in Our Trespasses, He Made Us Alive Together with Christ”, explores the themes of Ephesians 2:5—humanity’s spiritual death due to sin and God’s gracious act of granting new life through Christ. It begins by depicting a state of hopelessness, where humans are trapped in trespasses, unable to save themselves. Divine mercy intervenes, uniting believers with Christ to break sin’s chains and restore them through unearned grace. The poem culminates in triumph, with Christ’s victory over hell paving the way for believers to one day reign with Him in glory.

When we lay dead, entombed in trespass deep,
Our hearts were stone, our spirits bound in night,
No strength within to climb salvation’s steep,
Nor will to seek the dawn of holy light.
Yet mercy stirred where mortal hope had ceased,
A voice divine through silence softly broke,
With Christ conjoined, our souls from death released,
In grace reborn, the chains of sin unyoke.
No deed of ours could earn this sacred gain,
For love alone bestowed the victor’s crown,
A gift unasked, through blood and bitter pain,
Restored us whole where guilt had cast us down.
Through Him we rise, hell’s gates in ruin lie,
By grace enthroned, we will reign with Christ on high.