The Walkabout (Ephesians 2:10)
“…for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” –Ephesians 2:10
(For more comment on this verse, see here.)
Salvation is not merely a gift from God that we do not earn or accomplish—we are in fact (re)created by God. We are (re)created in Christ Jesus, (Meaning both the sphere in which we live and the means by which God accomplished our renewal.) but we are also (re)created for a purpose—good works.
Good works—not the sort that will earn us any standing or favor—but rather good works that are the intention of our life in Christ. Before we walked about under the influence of the world, evil, and our own selfish desires; now we walk about doing the things for which we were created.
The image of walking is a good one for the spiritual life. Hiking, for instance, is something that one must do to learn. There is very little point in attending a lengthy course to learn the finer points of hiking. One gains the stamina and strength in the doing. At the same time, the art of following a trail and reading the map are best learned in the practice. So it is with an intentional life. The better we know the One who made the trail, the better we recognize the signs that guide our path, and the better we know our own gifting and strengths, then the better journey we will have along the way. We have to start walking to best experience the way.
(For more comment on this verse, see here.)
Salvation is not merely a gift from God that we do not earn or accomplish—we are in fact (re)created by God. We are (re)created in Christ Jesus, (Meaning both the sphere in which we live and the means by which God accomplished our renewal.) but we are also (re)created for a purpose—good works.
Good works—not the sort that will earn us any standing or favor—but rather good works that are the intention of our life in Christ. Before we walked about under the influence of the world, evil, and our own selfish desires; now we walk about doing the things for which we were created.
The image of walking is a good one for the spiritual life. Hiking, for instance, is something that one must do to learn. There is very little point in attending a lengthy course to learn the finer points of hiking. One gains the stamina and strength in the doing. At the same time, the art of following a trail and reading the map are best learned in the practice. So it is with an intentional life. The better we know the One who made the trail, the better we recognize the signs that guide our path, and the better we know our own gifting and strengths, then the better journey we will have along the way. We have to start walking to best experience the way.
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