You are God’s workmanship
What did you dream about being when you grew up? A doctor? Lawyer? Teacher? Husband or wife? Mother or father? Superhero? Television anchor? So many choices…so many possibilities.
Now that you’ve arrived at adulthood, how does your life compare with what you had imagined? Are you where you thought you would be? Are you doing what you expected? Do you ever lie in bed at night wondering, “Is this really all there is to life?”
Perhaps you find yourself stuck in what seems like an endless daily routine, wondering whether life will ever deliver more.
Get up. Get ready. Eat Breakfast.
Go to work. Have more coffee. Say hello to the boss.
Read emails. Answer the phone. Go to meetings.
Get some work done.
Go to lunch.
Go to more meetings. Return phone calls. Answer emails.
Get more work done.
Go home. Watch the news.
Eat dinner.
Read the mail. Pay the bills. Watch “must see” TV.
Answer Emails. Return phone calls.
Go to bed.
Repeat.
Or maybe it’s even worse than that. Maybe you work for a boss who is behaving badly. Maybe your job is filled with tasks you despise, which leaves you feeling used, abused and refused.
On the other hand, your work situation might be great, full of activity, accomplishments and prosperity! Maybe you’re thinking, “It doesn’t get any better than this!”
I’m suggesting that it can get better—even if it already seems great. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know. God’s idea of “abundant life” (John 10:10) is likely to be much greater than any of us imagine!
Ask yourself these questions:
- Are you doing what you thought you would be doing at this point in your life? Why or why not?
- Do you believe you were created for more than you’re currently experiencing? Why or why not?
No matter what you are doing—or how well you are doing it—I have good news! You have the opportunity to define your existence and value by who you are, not merely by what you have done. A friend who is a consultant on performance improvement explains it this way:
“If what you do is who you are,
then when you don’t,
you aren’t." (from Gary O’Malley, Life Purpose in a Nutshell)
Scary thought, if you really think about it. After all, we are human beings, not human doings—even though everything we do comes out of our being. So, if your real identity is not merely the sum of your accomplishments, who are you?
I finally found my answer to that question when I came to these amazing four words from our key verse:
“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
How stunning is that? “I am God’s workmanship!”
