Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, May 25, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Grace doesn’t depend on works. But grace calls us into a life of works. There’s no way to earn God’s love or favor or salvation. Which also means there’s no way to lose these things. They are gifts to everyone no matter what. So does that mean we don’t have to do anything at all?
Not so! God’s grace prepares us to live a new way of life. A life in which we work for the good of others in all things. If we fail to do these things, does it mean God takes away these gifts? Well, no. But honestly, if we’re not responding in gratitude to God by loving our neighbors in real and vital ways, are we really reaping the benefits of those gifts?
So many people wander through life seeking some kind of meaning. The self-help industry is however many billions of dollars big, after all. Everyone wants to find that thing that makes life worth living. But the problem is that so much of the self-help industry is focused solely on…well…helping the self. When in fact, in my experience, the only thing that makes life worth living is helping others.
This one short (for Paul, anyway) sentence so beautifully encapsulates what it means to live as a Christian. I wonder how many of us try to overcomplicate things when, really, living a beautiful and fulfilling life is actually quite simple.
How do I live out this idea of being created in Christ Jesus for good works?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
