For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. - Ephesians 2:10
Other translations of this verse say that we are to “do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” and “Long ago he planned that we should spend these lives helping others.”
These “good things” are not actions that get us into heaven, but are rather the tasks awaiting us once we enter there! And that doesn’t mean we have to die first. We enter heaven the day heaven enters us! “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,” says the song. When Jesus Christ comes into my life, I enter heaven on earth—I am seated with him in heavenly places. Once that union with Christ is established, what a relief to discover that God has something for me to do!
I’m a woman of action, and the idea of sitting around on a misty pink cloud playing a harp is not my idea of heaven!
What a joy it was for me to discover that God has prepared some people that needed helping, and that he had prepared me to help them! That brought a real sense of worth and purpose to my life. Some people don’t know how to find others who need help. One practical lesson I have learned is this: If possible, never say no to opportunities. If you become known as a willing servant, you will soon be given someone to serve. That’s one way to find the “good things” that God has prepared in advance for you to do!
For Further Study: Ephesians 2:1-10
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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