Don’t Work So Hard
Ephesians 2:4-8 … God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) … I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.
It seems that one of the best ways to get ahead in life is to impress people – to dazzle them with our brilliance. Perhaps that’s what that phrase “dressed for success” is all about.
Back when I first met my wife Jacqui … man, I definitely wanted to impress her; to get her attention; to win her favour. That’s only natural. But now that we’ve been married for over a quarter of a century, I don’t want to impress her … I want to bless her. There’s a big difference. And it’s the same deal with God.
Too many of those who believe in Jesus live with the burden that they have to work hard to impress Him, to atone for the mistakes they made yesterday. But that’s not it at all. Because …
Ephesians 2:4,8 … God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) … I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.
Perhaps you need to hear this today: stop working so hard to impress the God who’s already poured His grace out on you. You can’t work your way into His favour … it’s His free gift already given to you through Jesus.
We don’t do good works to be saved. We do good works because we’re saved.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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