Pursuing the Good Works
Ephesians 2: 1-10
In this passage, Paul describes three types of work:
Type 1 (verses 1-3): The first type of work is one guided by the ways of the world. Paul describes this as actions that give in to the “cravings of our flesh,” causing us to be mired in sin. In this work, we are led into disobedience, guilty of following the faulty, fleeting desires of a “kingdom of the air.” In The Message translation, Eugene Peterson describes this as a state in which the world, “which doesn’t know the first thing about living” dictates our life and works. Notably, Paul asserts that this is a phenomenon which all humans experience at some point.
Type 2 (verses 8-9): Secondly, this passage describes work that is centered upon an erroneous desire to earn salvation and grace. This striving is driven by the notion that mercy is something we must earn, or even that our worthiness of grace is something that could be boasted about. However, salvation is God’s work – not ours. Our role is only to accept the generous outpouring of grace we have received. Notably, Paul describes that not only are we saved, but we’ve been redeemed so that we might have the opportunity to sit WITH Jesus. God’s love, not our own works, revitalizes our life so that we can experience God’s grace.
Type 3 (verse 10): As a result of this redemption through grace, we are called to do good works through God. We are His handiwork, and His work is something He has prepared us to do. In other words, the revolutionary grace we’ve been shown allows us to do work in alignment with God – not to boastfully earn our salvation, not to serve a kingdom of air, but to participate in God’s plans for goodness.
I’m of the opinion that this “good work” doesn’t necessarily have to be work in a traditional sense. I think that these callings that God nudges us into can be incredibly out of the ordinary, creative, or novel. For me, running has been something that feels like good/holy work recently. When I run, I feel a sense of purpose, connection to God, peace, and appreciation for Creation. This sensation is even more evident to me when I run with other people – I find that the conversations, relationships, and sense of trust that is cultivated by struggling through a 15 mile run with good friends also feels like holy work to partake in. In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell sums up this experience well when he says “I believe God made me for a purpose – but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
What are examples of these three types of work in your own life? What feels surprising or radical about the good work God has called you into? How can we, as a church community, lean into God’s grace and assuage our desires to earn salvation?