God's Work / Our Work

Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do."

God's Work -- We are the product of God's work. "We are God's workmanship." When you think of an artist or a craftsman, you evaluate the art that they produce. The higher the quality of the piece produced, the more skilled the artist or craftsman is. Our salvation was God's work. It was produced flawlessly through the death of Jesus Christ. He has proclaimed us justified and righteous in Christ.

Yet, as we look as our lives, we recognize that we are not perfect and definitely not holy. We are in the process of being sanctified. God is often referred to in the Scriptures as the Potter. He is the Potter; we are the clay (Jeremiah 18). God continues His work in our lives to change us more and more in the image of His Son. (II Cor. 3:18) "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil 1:6)

The same God who spoke the world into existence takes His time in working on our lives. He has the power to "speak us" into perfection, but He chooses to mold us slowly day by day and hour by hour. Why?

Our Work -- According to Ephesians 2: 10, we are to "do good works". And, we don't choose which good works to do -- God has already chosen them for us.

So, are the good works we are supposed to do? Micah 6:8 answers this question, "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

How do we accomplish our tasks? The Scripture tells us in II Corinthians 5:9 what the Apostle's Paul's goal was in his ministry, "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." In Phil. 3:13-14, Paul shares how he works: "...but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Jesus instructed us in Matt. 5:16 to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Our obedience in doing the work that God has given us brings honor and glory to Him.

I John 1 talks about walking the light. Romans 1:17 & Hab. 2:4 say, "The righteous will live by faith." Jesus boiled the commandments down into two phrases: "Love God" and "Love people."

So, let's evaluate how the work is going? Do I see progress in being changed into the image of Jesus? Am I becoming more like Him? When people look at my life, do they praise God? Am I pleasing God by obeying Him? It's safe to say that God's work in my life is not complete!

Next post: FAFSA Focus!