A Lifestyle of Good Works

In his letter to the Ephesians (2:10), the Apostle Paul wrote: For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. 

For we are what God has made us… The New International Version puts it this way, “For we are God’s handiwork… “The King James translates it, “For we are his workmanship…” Another scholar put it this way, “We are God’s work of art . . .”

I love that! Have you ever thought of yourself as God’s handiwork, God’s workmanship? You are a work of art that God created!

And we are created for a purpose. We are created for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. 

A lifestyle of good works…

Paul is telling us that built into the way God created us, part of the way we are designed, part of God’s workmanship is building into us a need, a desire, a heart to do good works, to participate with him in the healing and redemption of the world.

This is not about salvation… But it is central to who we are created to be.

I can’t tell you how often I talk to people who give deeply of their time, energy, and money who say: Oh, I receive way more by doing this than I ever gave!”

That’s not to say it’s not difficult. It certainly is. It’s difficult because when we look at the world around us, the message we get is often completely different. And I don’t know about you, but in my life I’m busy, between my work at church and demands on my time at home, not to mention demands on my money, with three girls in college and car insurance for all these teenagers… There is a myth of scarcity that tells us there won’t be enough. And I often have to remind myself, don’t trust the myth. Trust God. Trust… because in giving, I grow. In serving others, I find meaning.

We are created in the image of a giving God, a generous God. We are created for good works, created to shine light: understanding, hope, compassion, and mercy, into a world that is often dark. 

Let us pray: God of hope, we pray today for your healing grace. We need you. And we ask today that even in our brokenness, you would use us and the gifts we have, to reflect your light into the darkness of this world. Through Christ who has called us. Amen.