“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:10
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been examining the question, “Who am I?” To start out, we learned that we should be looking to scripture to tell us about our identity. And then we looked at our key verse, Ephesians 2:10, and what it teaches us about who we are, specifically that we are created by God and meant to do life with God.
This week, we’re going to finish out this series with one more simple truth from scripture. Our key verse teaches us that not only are we made by God to do life with Him, but we’re also made to do good works for Him. This is the final piece of our identity puzzle.
Some people ask the question, “If the whole point of life is to know God, why doesn’t He just take us to heaven with Him when we become Christians?” Honestly, if that’s all life was about, then there wouldn’t be any point in staying down here on this earth after conversion. But God doesn’t do that; He leaves us down here. Why is that?
It’s because there’s more to our purpose than just being saved. Sure, that’s the most important thing we can do, but once we’ve done that, we aren’t finished. God has more in store for us than that.
Once we’ve dedicated our lives to God and started walking with Him, that’s when He starts to lead us into do His good works in the world. Things like telling others about Him and making life better for other people. This is what God wants us to do with our time here on this earth.
We hear all the time about people all across the world who are doing great things for God. They’re building orphanages, digging wells, speaking out for those who don’t have a voice, and setting captives free. Why are they doing that? They’re doing it because of their faith in God!
The Bible teaches us that believing in God cannot be a selfish, internal act. No, it’s external. It changes us. It compels us to act and to do the things that God calls us to do out in the world.
There’s a verse in James that speaks directly to this issue. You see, there was some debate in the early church about whether or not salvation could be earned. Some said salvation came through works, while others said it came through faith. James put the whole debate to rest when he said this:
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. —James 2:18
Did you catch what he‘s saying there? James is saying that faith and works cannot be separated. No, we can’t earn our way into heaven. Salvation comes by faith, not by works. But, faith does bring about works in us. When we believe in God, we can’t help but be changed by it. It’s the natural result of the work He’s doing within us.
So yes, doing good works is a key part of the Christian life. The truth is that walking with God and doing His work go hand-in-hand. If we’re doing one, we’re doing the other. And if we’re neglecting one, then there’s no way that we can succeed in the other.
If we want to understand who we truly are and be all that we were created to be, we must be doing good works for God. It may sound scary at first, but it’s really not. All it takes is walking in step with the Holy Spirit like we talked about last week and choosing to obey when He calls us to do something for Him. That’s all there is to it.
You can start small. Maybe the Holy Spirit is calling you to simply smile at a stranger on the street, or help them load their groceries into their car. Or maybe He’s calling you to something bigger, like sharing your faith with a friend who doesn’t know Christ. Who knows? One day, the Holy Spirit might call you do something huge like go on a missions trip or start a new ministry. But it all starts with listening to His voice on the small, everyday things.
And as you do that, God will show you more and more of who you are in Him. I’ve discovered some of my greatest passions through my ministry work. There are things about myself I never would have found out had I not learned them through doing good works for God. And I know that if you start doing good works for Him, He’ll bless you in the same way.
We are created by God to walk with Him and do good works for Him. That is who we are. I’m so thankful to have learned that truth from scripture, and I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring this verse with me. It’s my desire that you’ve learned a little something about yourself along the way.
That’s all for this series of blog posts. But don’t worry! I’ll be back next week with a new post all about getting and staying fit. If you’re dedicated to your fitness, I hope you’ll come back and read some more next week. You can also sign up for my monthly newsletter, featuring exclusive fitness content and free, instant access to my ebook, A Simple Formula for Success.
Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you here again very soon.
To your fitness!