The What and The Why

So, this week we are reading through Ephesians 2:8-10 as a congregation. Many of you know Ephesians 2:8-9 which states,
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

This part of salvation is the part that we hear about all the time. For whatever reason when we talk about salvation it is always in terms of being saved from something. We have been saved from sin, saved from regret, saved from our past, etc. . . . All of this is of course important, but that is not all there is! If that was all there really was to salvation, then why doesn’t our life on earth end as soon as we confess faith in Jesus? If this life is all about “getting saved” then why on earth am I still here? Have you ever wondered that? Are we just biding our time waiting to die?

This past week has been interesting watching the transition of presidents. There are so many stories that have occurred over the past couple of weeks. Politics aside, I have found it interesting watching the excitement and passion of Obama and the plans and dreams he is pursuing. This is juxtaposed to Bush who I am guessing is very ready to be done with all of it! Eight years ago he approached his inauguration with the same passion and zeal that Obama is now. But, somewhere in the last couple of months that desire for action waned considerably and he seemed to just hit a point where he was just biding his time until the next person stepped in. Now, don’t get caught up in accusing me of claiming Bush is bad and Obama is good. My guess is Obama will find himself in the same place in either 4 or 8 years. My point is that there comes a time when a president is just biding his time.

I think many of us get stuck in this same place. The excitement and freshness of being a new Christian begins to wear off and we become overly familiar with our new faith and new life. And, before long we find ourselves just biding our time. We have accepted God’s grace, made sure our eternity is secured. We’re good.

Here is the thing. We have been saved for a reason. We have a tendency to focus on the what and forget about the why. What: you have been saved by grace through faith . . . . but Why? Well, verse 10 of Ephesians covers this and I think communicates the greatest treasure of our salvation!

10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We were saved, because we were created to do good works!! There is a reason for the life we live! Are you bored in your faith? My guess is it is because you have not been living the abundant life you were saved to live! This part of salvation is often ignored and I think it is possibly the best part! In his book Wild Goose Chase (which was just given to me, and I have only started) Mark Batterson writes, “We need to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death”.

So, here is the thing. What is it that God is calling you to do? If you don’t know, maybe you should spend some time in quiet prayer. I am not talking about the “when I grow up I am going to. . . . “ things. I am talking about the daily things. Who in your life has a need that you can fill? What needs are in your dorm, house, class, etc? It may be very simple. I would encourage you to spend 5 or 10 minutes just contemplating some needs that you can respond to. Write them down, let them bother you and then do something about it. Don’t make excuses. Remember, this is what you were saved to do.

If you want to share your lists or stories I would love to hear them!