This past Sunday Jose focused on personal responsibility in our faith. But I hope this is clear to all of us — as we read these scriptures in Ephesians 2, we can be certain that we receive grace through faith in Jesus. We do not take up this personal responsibility to earn a relationship with Jesus but in response to what Jesus did for us. Then, we do good works because of the grace we did not earn.
Now that I am secure in my identity in Christ, I have clear vision to see that these good works do not earn God’s love, attention, or affection. I already have that. I am His handiwork. I now get to join in the good works that He has prepared for us, the Church, to do.
We get to care for our neighbors because God first cared for us. We get to assist the single mothers and the widows because God has given us so much. We get to care for the elderly because God has shown us value that we now share with others.
When we do all of these things out of the overflow of God’s love through us, we do not take the credit. I cannot boast in my salvation, because I did not earn it. I cannot boast about my spiritual gifts because they were given, not earned. I don’t want to boast, because it is not about me. It is about Jesus and the kingdom that we get to be a part of.
When I start to boast, or even when I want to boast, I know that my motivation has moved away from honoring God and toward honoring myself. That is when the personal responsibility steps in. Do I have the self-awareness to notice when I am off track? Do I have the discipline to return to scripture? Do I have the humility to ask for help? Do I have community around me to speak both truth and love?
Jesus, give us wisdom, discipline and self-awareness. Help us to see that we cannot boast in our good works. When we do boast, help us to see that we are off track and need to come back to you. We want your kingdom to advance. Use us for your perfect purposes. In your name we pray, Amen.