In Ephesians 2:10 I read, “God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” (NCV)
God shaped me to serve him.
The Bible says, “God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing” (Ephesians 2:10 NCV).
Before I was even born, God decided what contribution he wanted me to make with my life. God didn’t put me on this planet just to take up space. He put me here to serve him by serving others.
And nobody else can be me. If I don’t serve God the way he intended for me to serve him, then the world misses out.
Another name for “good works” is “ministry.” Any time I use my talents and abilities to help somebody else, I am ministering to them. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings” (TLB).
The talents that I have are not for my benefit. God gave me my talents for the benefit of other people. Nobody has it all together; God wired the universe so that we would need each other.
God wants me to practice here on Earth what I’ll be doing in heaven. In heaven, I’m going to love God and love others, so he wants me to practice that now.
I’m going to grow spiritually and serve God in heaven, so he wants me to practice this on Earth. Since it’s impossible to serve God directly on Earth, I serve him here by serving others. In fact, God says that any time I help somebody else, it’s like I’m doing it for him.
I serve God when I serve others.
In summary, God has made me who I am. God made me so that I could do good works, which God planned in advance for me to live my life doing. God shaped me to serve him. Before I was even born, God decided what contribution he wanted me to make with my life. God didn’t put me here just to take up space. He put me here to serve him by serving others. Nobody else can be me. If I don’t serve the way he intended for me to serve, then the world misses out. Any time I use my talents and abilities to help somebody else, I am ministering to them. The talents that I have are not for my benefit. God gave me my talents for the benefit of others. Nobody has it all together; God wired the universe so that we would need each other. God wants me to practice here on Earth what I’ll be doing in heaven. In heaven, I’m going to love God and love others, so he wants me to practice that now. I’m going to grow spiritually and serve God in heaven, so he wants me to practice this on Earth. I serve him here by serving others. Any time I help somebody else, it’s like I’m doing it for him. I serve God when I serve others.
I became a Christian through God's unmerited grace, not as a result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on my part. Out of gratitude for this free gift, I should seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please myself. While there is no action or work I can do that can help me obtain salvation, God's intention is that my salvation results in acts of service. I am not merely saved for my own benefit but to serve Christ and build up the church. I am God's work of art and workmanship. My salvation is something only God could do. It is his powerful, creative work within me. If God considers me his workmanship, then I dare not treat myself or others with disrespect or as inferior work.
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