Connecting the Dots

Let’s begin by examining a familiar portion of Scripture:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

The focus of these two verses is the grace of God. It’s clear—abundantly clear—that we’re saved by grace, which is a gift from God. The twenty-first-century church has done an excellent job of communicating this truth. We can never work hard enough, live pure enough, or sacrifice enough to earn the privilege of spending eternity with our Creator, Almighty God. This familiar scripture has been the most looked-to reference to reveal this important truth.

However, we may have neglected what comes next:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Notice that the next word after the ninth verse is for. This word is a conjunction, which joins the two statements together. This tells us that the beginning of Paul’s statement (verses 8 and 9) is not complete on its own. The word for means “because of this,” so verse 10 should not be left out when citing verses 8 and 9; otherwise, we don’t get the complete meaning of what’s being communicated.

God designed things for you to do before you were born. He actually recorded these works in a book! We can only imagine how huge this book is because every moment of our lives is recorded in it. These assignments He planned for us revolve around building His kingdom.

His deepest desire is that we fulfill His plans for our life—but it’s not guaranteed that we will. Notice in Ephesians 2:10 that the word should. It doesn’t say “that we would walk in them”; it says “that we should walk in them.” Here’s where our free will enters the game. He prearranged our works—but it’s up to us to walk in what He planned.

I’m firmly convinced that when we stand before Jesus at the believer’s judgment seat (where we’ll be rewarded for our labor as Christians or suffer loss for our neglect), He will open His book and say, “Let’s compare how you actually lived to the original plan My Father and I had in mind for you.” (In regard to the judgment, it’s written in two different places in Scripture that the “books were opened”—see Daniel 7:10 and Revelation 20:12.) I believe these books were written by God about our life before we were born. Regarding our specific calling, we won’t be judged on what we did, but rather on what we were called to do. That’s both sobering and invigorating.

Here’s the startling reality: How effective you are is not up to God, but up to you. That may sound irreverent if you’ve put all your life achievements in the basket of “God’s sovereignty.” However, I assure you it is not irreverent, nor does this statement take anything away from the sovereignty of God. It’s a testimony of His trust in us, and His desire for His sons and daughters to exercise the free will He’s given us.

Respond

Have you realized things God designed you to do even before you were born?

Pray

Almighty Father, please show me each day your plan for my life. I want to accomplish your plans and bring You glory and honor.