If someone you know could follow you all day every day for two weeks and know all your thoughts, what would they say is the center of your life? What would they say is most important to you? In our study of Ephesians, we have so far talked about our true identity being in Christ, rather than the various roles we so often believe form our identity. We have also talked about the stress-free life coming from the hope which grows in us, the more we know God through His Word and Holy Spirit. This week we shift to talk about our lifestyle as Christians. The starting point for our lifestyle in Christ is summed up in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God.” The source of our salvation is grace. We can do nothing to earn grace; it is offered to us as a gift. Our faith filled response is the means of our salvation. All we have to do to be saved is to accept Gods gracious offer of it.
The natural response to this incredible gift is to express thanks and we do that through a lifestyle in which Jesus is the center and we engage in good works. Ephesians 2:10 says, “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.” Most of us will slip up and slide back into how we were in our former life from time to time which is why the thought of someone who can read our minds, following us around, is a bit unsettling. But the good news is there is always more grace for us. And because God is so good, and because he loves us so much, he continues to accept us when we return to Him and choose to have Jesus be the center of our lives. So, what is most important to you? May we all choose to keep Jesus at the center of our lives so that we can engage in a lifestyle of good works as an expression of our gratitude and for the glory of God.
