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Daily Meditation -  Fully Alive

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works so that no one may boast.  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before had to be our way of life. NRSV

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul talks about the relationship between salvation and good works.  Personally, I’ve always felt uncomfortable talking about salvation.  I find the word ‘salvation’ loaded.  It is a word that is often wheeled about by evangelists, a word historically used for control by the church, an insider word, Christian ‘jargon’.  But this week, in our book study Surprised by Hope by N. T Wright , I found a new way to look at salvation.  A way that speaks to me in a language and imagery I can live with.  In the chapter on The Hope of Salvation, Wright observes that “saving” i.e., salvation means “rescue,”  in biblical terms it is not just about being saved from something but being saved for something.  So  Salvation is not “going to heaven” but “being raised in life in God’s new heaven and new earth.“  WOW!!  So often we Christians believe that salvation is being saved from the world,  but really, we are saved for the world.  By saved I mean dedicated (recruited)  to God’s plan for the world through Jesus. YES!!!   Wright highlights that we are not saved by good works but saved for good works!  YES!!!

We Christians should be people who: make the world come alive, bring texture and colour, create art, write books, open new possibilities, infuse joy, instill love, bring hope. When we are  functioning at our best, fully human, fully alive, we are reflecting God’s light in the world. God created us to be fully alive, open to possibility, open to hope, open to new life.  

Consider how might your life look different if in one of the following areas you committed to do good works, to bring hope, open new possibilities, infuse joy,  for the glory of God, on a regular basis:

In your marriage

In your workplace

In your local church

In your neighbourhood

In some place else you go regularly.  

Are you functioning the best you can?