Growing up my creativity ran wild. My back yard was a forest, and I had grand adventures as an Indian. I had a bow and arrow, plastic of course, and a garbage bag as my animal skin coat. We had a tree house, so that was my attack launching point. Beware woodland creatures, the Indian was soon to pounce.
Later on, my best friend and I played tactical assault on the neighborhood for hours. We protected his house from imaginary enemies. We had an arsenal of fake weapons from grenades to rocket launchers (which were nothing more than cardboard boxes made into a fake weapons). We were heroes. As I grew older, I imagined I was Michael Jordan as I turned to make the game-winning shot of the NBA finals. Hours and hours I spent playing basketball in the driveway. I never became the NBA star but imagined that one day I would become a great athlete and make lots of money. Depending on the day, it was basketball or baseball. Soccer was my game, but I didn’t know any big time money makers nor had I seen many professional games since they didn’t come on television that much. You probably did the same thing. You imagined yourself as someone else. Your imagination ran wild with the numerous possibilities of grandeur in the future. You desired a great job that brought adventure and excitement. Rarely do kids pretend to be a banker, lawyer, or accountant. Rarer still are the librarians and researchers. Kids tend to drift toward the fireman, policeman, or professional athlete jobs. This is after all why we were created. We were created to do something. We were not created to sit around and do nothing. Our lives drift toward the excitement, the thrill, and the things that keep us moving. We were created with a purpose. We were created to work. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Paul, talking with the church at Ephesus, tried to help the new Christians understand that we cannot be idle. We are… Saved by grace. (v.8) All have sinned. All lived according to the desires of the flesh. All were, or have been, slaves to the world. We were born slaves to the world. But God, while we were yet sinners, loved us so that he sent his only son to die to save us from the penalty of sin. Jesus Christ died and rose again in order that we might live penalty free of sin in Heaven. We, symbolically, have died and have been raised with Christ. God saved us because he wanted us to see, feel his love. All of this is accomplished through Jesus’ action on the cross and in the resurrection. We can do nothing to get ourselves in Heaven. The weight of our sin does not allow us to enter the gates. Yet through Christ’s actions, we are able to enter. He has wiped our slate clean. We are sinless in the eyes of God. He planned it out. He acted it out. We simply accept the gift. Saved for a purpose. (v.9-10) We are saved simply because he loves us. But we are not saved to do nothing. We are saved “to do good works.” We are to be the hands and feet of Christ to the world. A person cannot hear the gospel message if someone does not teach it to them. Thus, it is difficult, not impossible, for someone to come to faith without hearing the gospel message. You and I are to spread the gospel message because we are created to do so. We are created to work, made new in Christ to help others. What is the evidence to support this claim? (v.10) For we are God’s handiwork. God uniquely created you and me. When it is time to build something, I rarely follow the instructions to the letter. I may look up some blueprints to use as a guideline, but the end product is something completely devoid of the original. You may say that is because I am either terrible at carpentry or terrible at following directions. Either way, the end product is unique. I step back and look at what has been accomplished, what has been created, and I am pleased. I think, I did this, I created this piece. No one else has it. God created you unique. No one else is like you, looks like you, etc. There may be some that are copycats. They walk like you, they talk like you, but they are not you. There are still some things that are different. Look at my two kids. They are spitting images of me and of each other. We have pictures that we know are Zac simply because of the date on the photo. In every other aspect you would think that it is Andrew. But these two could not be any more different in personality. They are night and day. Zac cares for people. Andrew cares for Andrew. Each one may look similar but they are definitely unique. We are uniquely created. Created in Christ Jesus to do good works. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we were made new. Scriptures says that all things are made new in Christ. As believers, we hold fast to this because we hope to abandon our sinful ways. We are made new in Christ. Uniquely created...to do good works. James says that faith without works is dead. Paul is telling the church at Ephesus the same sentiments...you are created to do good works. Christians love each other. Christian serve each other. Christians look out for those that can’t look out for themselves. Good works….plural. We can’t stop with just one good deed. Or we can’t say, well I have paid my dues. The good works are never complete. We can always offer an encouraging word, open our home to someone in need, or help build a home for someone that can’t afford it. We can be the hands and feet of Christ because we are made new for the purpose of doing good works. Which God prepared for us in advance. Ah, the touchy subject verse. Predestination. God prepared for us to do good works. If we go back to last Sunday we understand that God has called us to work. God has called us to specific and general tasks that He has uniquely prepared us for through our gifts, talents, and spiritual gifts. God has foreseen what is ahead and has granted us the abilities to accomplish each of the tasks he sets before us….to do good works. God has made us in such a way to uniquely solve some of the ministry opportunities that will arise throughout our life. You say, but wait….that is not necessarily predestination...I am not predetermined in some way…. ESV...that we should walk in them. There is this juxtaposition of divine intervention and human responsibility within Paul’s writing. The NIV does not fully capture the essence of Paul’s meaning. God has prepared for us many opportunities to show His love to others, we just simply have to choose to do it. You see we have to put down the device that has captured our attention, whether it is binge watching your favorite show on Amazon Prime or Netflix, or quickly shifting through Facebook, Snapchap, or Instagram to see what everyone is up to today. And we need to look at the world around us, find the job that we were created to do, and do it. Right now there are thousands of people starving. What can we do to help? A fellow administrator told me of several students at their school that were bold enough to come and ask if they could go back to the lunch room and get any leftovers to take home with them over the weekend. The students said they would not get another meal until they returned Monday morning. Out of that need, the school with help from some local churches, created a food pantry for students. The students in need simply go by the pantry on Friday, get a bag, and fill it. No questions asked. Another administrator told me of how their school now has free lunch throughout the summer. Everyone and anyone in the community that is under the age of 19 can come and eat for free in the cafeteria. The students just simply have to make to the high school before 11:30a. No questions, no registrations, just come and eat. Someone is completing the task they were designed to complete. As young children, we imagine that were anyone but ourselves. We imagined to be wealthy, famous people. It is time to stop imagining or wishing we were someone else and accept the man or woman that God created. God uniquely created for purpose, for a predetermined reason. Now, go and finish the job. Go, do good works. You and I were created to do good things. Imagine if everyone in church decided today that helping others was an important aspect of their lives? What would happen to your town, your community? Poverty, Unlivable housing, starvation, it would end. Be the hands and feet of Jesus today….do good works.
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