“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
My first thought when I read this verse as a young Christian who was testing her faith (and admittedly, one who enjoys easy answers and quick fixes), was: “Is that it then? If I believe, then am I all set? That’s so much easier than I thought it would be!”
The charity, the being nice, the donations, the following of the commandments — was all of this unnecessary so long as I believed in Christ’s resurrection?
I’m probably not the only person to have this notion. There are some who, sadly, live by it. They wear a cross around their neck, thank God in one breath and take His name in vain in the next. They say they believe, but then turn their backs on what Jesus stood for and taught.
I’m not judging them because I’ve been them. On any given day, I fall away from the teachings found in the Bible and live as though what I do doesn’t really matter. We are all sinners and all make mistakes, but does that mean we should live in the muck, knowing that God will wash us clean with Jesus’ blood time and time again?
No. Because even if works and the law are not the road to eternal life, they are part of the journey.
We don’t give generously, love wholeheartedly, and follow Jesus’ example because it gets us into heaven. Our faith has already taken care of that. But believing is only the trunk of the tree. What we do because we believe are the branches. We act a certain way and do certain things because it glorifies our God, because it brings light into others’ lives who haven’t yet seen it, and because it pleases our Heavenly Father.
Simply speaking, we do good works because we want to.
Our faith and His grace will save us from our sins. Our works will show how that faith and grace have changed our hearts and opened them up to the love, joy, forgiveness, and peace that God wants for His children.
So keep on doing good works. And never stop believing.
Have a blessed Monday!
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