Molded by the Master
By Susan Klein
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
By Susan Klein
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
Do you ever wonder about your purpose in life? Have you ever questioned if you were really doing the “work of God”? We’ve probably all walked in these shoes at one time or another. Perhaps you work at a job that seems unfulfilling and pointless. Or, maybe being a stay-at-home mom isn’t the glamorous career you’ve always dreamed of. Or, what about those retirement years? Do you find yourself asking, “Am I past my prime for serving?”
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are all created to do good works that were prepared in advance by our heavenly Father for us to do. He was purposeful and intentional in creating each one of us, knowing full well the job He had in mind for us to do before we even came into existence. In Jeremiah, chapter 18, we see a wonderful illustration of a potter at a wheel, shaping a lump of clay. It says that the pot he was shaping was marred, so he formed it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best to him. God goes on to say, “Can I not do with you as this potter does? Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand....” From our first breath, we were being shaped by the Father! And as we’ve grown and matured, God has been working in us so that He might work through us!
When we fully wrap our minds around this concept, and accept that we are living with a purpose, then we open the door to the will and work of God. Every day has purpose, whether we are 13 or 83, working in a job or staying home, serving out in the world or in our own neighborhoods. No good work is too small, nor is it too large or beyond our capabilities. Not only does God choose the good works in advance for us to do, He also equips us to do them. We never have to question our purpose or how we will accomplish it if we allow His loving hands to mold us and His Word to speak to us.
And remember, you’re never too old to hop back up on the wheel for a little re-shaping!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Take a personal inventory of your “good works.” Are you a vessel being used by God?
FURTHER READING:
1 Peter 2:12; James 2:14-18; Romans 9:21; 2 Timothy 3:17
Susan is a wife and mother of two. She is the Coordinator of Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study and one of its teachers.
