Pastor Chris
“For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Over the past few weeks, national and international crises have taken center stage in our media landscape. From the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine to natural disasters here in our nation – most specifically Hurricanes Helene and Milton – many of us have found ourselves at a loss. What can we possibly do that can matter in the face of such overwhelming tragedies? As private citizens of this country, we hope that our elected officials are doing the hard work of coming together to address some of these things in ways that make sense and do real good. As people of faith, however, we know that we are called to more than simply entrusting the hard work to others. As the verse above from Ephesians tells us, we ourselves are created for good works. We are created for good.
In Genesis 2, we read our most intimate version of God’s creative work. Before there were any other animals that creeped upon the earth, there was God and a garden. And in this garden, God placed a man who has the breath of life placed in him by his creator. This breath of life is our first hint that the man is more than just another created thing. Indeed, the man was created, but he was more. He was a worker in God’s garden. From the beginning of creation, God created us to do the work that was placed before us. And in this moment of creation, we know that the work we are intended to do is good.
And the truth is, as people called and created to do good work in the world, we don’t all do the same type of good work. Some of us have different gifts. Some of us aren’t able to be the people who are on the front lines doing active ministry to people in need. Some of us have obligations that would make it difficult for us to commit to some grand event or cause. But we are all still created for good work. We are all still created to love God and love our neighbor, even if the things we’re doing don’t seem as grandiose as that of our neighbor. Maybe the good things our neighbor was created for aren’t the same as the good things we were created for. And that’s OK. There’s still a lot of good to be done in the world.
Maybe your good for today is the good of being an attentive friend or parent. Maybe your good is making a donation to a group that has boots on the ground in areas of natural disaster (Lutheran Disaster Response is one of the best places to send money to help during a crisis). Maybe the good you are called to on this day is simply to bless others with patience and consideration. Whatever it is, all these small goods begin to add up.
So today, I remind you all, you are indeed made good in the eyes of God to do good things in this world. Even though God has already saved us through the cross of Christ, the good we do is how we live in response to the transforming grace given to us. May we seek to find where God is calling us to do good things, and live every day in the promises of God’s good mercies.
Pastor Chris