“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
Reflection: how can others tell that you are in Christ?
“We are different” I remember my mom tried to explain when I was growing up. The topic often came up after I came home from school, and asked why we couldn’t go to the movies, do certain activities on Sundays, or why I wasn’t able to go to school parties. To hang out with the cool kids. Different. Why? At that time, I didn’t want to be different, at all. I wanted to be just like the others, especially the cool kids. Those that the girls seem to be more interested in. They all seemed to have a lot more fun than we did, as they so colorfully talked about during breaks. But, of course, I started seeing through this, but it was a transition through my teenage years, to find my own path. To ultimately find the path of Christ. And, I am so grateful to my parents who kept pushing on this idea that we are different. Admittedly, it has been a life journey; still learning what it means to be different. To not follow the world, but follow Christ.
Paul starts out this amazing paragraph in chapter 2 with the statement of what I was also trying to figure out those teenage years. He says “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV
Ahh, there it is. The desire to be just as the others is the desire in our flesh. But as Paul also points out here is that this is literally a sign of death. As I look back at the choices made then, it was perhaps easier to see those who “walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”. Wow, Paul is not mincing words here, calling those who follow the flesh and walking according to the spirit in the world “sons of disobedience”, and “children of wrath”. It is not the popular message of “God is love” so you can live however you want. He goes on, penning some of the most beloved, most beautiful verses of the Bible, a deep treasure for all who follow Christ.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10 NKJV
Amazing. Just amazing. Not sure what else to say. This is why we are different, and we are not like the others. Not like the world. Which means we are in an active battle within ourselves. The flesh is aligned, tuned like an instrument, to the spirit of the world, while our new creation in Christ, our inner man and the Spirit of God in us, is tuned to Christ. The choice we make is whom to follow, even after being made alive in Christ. Sadly, there are many who still follow the desires of the flesh, not wanting to be different than the sons of disobedience, pursuing money, power, things, and, dare I say, even religion, as many children of disobedience do. But we read here that salvation cannot be earned from works, but is only by faith in Christ; a gift of God. And, we learn here, which also is our focus verse today, that God is doing work in us, that we are His “workmanship”, working on transforming us to be more like Christ. So that we can do His work in this dying world. To bring life to the others; not to be like them.
So, let’s do an honest check today. Do we want to be different, to really follow Christ, or are we still looking around trying to be accepted by the others in the world? Do we live according to the flesh of death, or according to the Spirit of life? Our flesh still wants to be as the others, and the Spirit like Christ. Let’s choose to follow the Spirit of life.
