⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Dear God, what does it mean to be saved? We use that word a lot: “Saved.” Growing up, it mainly meant saved from hell. “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you’ll go?” That was the selling point. That was the benefit transaction. I am rescued from hell. But from even the age of 17 or 18, I started to realize there was a different story to tell. It’s not about getting saved from hell. It’s about getting saved from myself. Getting saved from separation from you in the here and now. It’s about loving you and humbling myself enough to experience your love and comfort in this moment. It’s about getting myself transformed into who Jesus taught me to be through his life and his teaching.

Paul reinforces that perspective here. He isn’t talking about me getting saved from hell. He’s talking about becoming your masterpiece. It’s about us doing the good things you planned for us long ago in the now. Not later. Not after death. Now.

So my job is to continuously choose the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14). I didn’t choose the narrow gate once just so I can get my fire insurance. No, that’s not the gate Jesus called me to. Jesus called me to live up to the standards of the Sermon on the Mount through developing my relationship with you and being transformed into what Paul is talking about here to the Ephesians. It starts with loving you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then loving my neighbor as myself. Low and behold, if I do those things then I will be a peacemaker and merciful. I will be comforted when I mourn. I will be salt and light. Hate and lust will become more and more distasteful to me. I will give. I will pray. I will fast with a humble heart, not for show. My treasures on earth will be the things that are of you and not the things of this world. I will be curious and not judgmental. I will ask for better and better things, and you will delight in giving me the things that are good for me. I will judge people by their fruit and be shrewd around those I do not trust. I will build my life on you and get rid of as much sandy soil as possible. That is my job, even today.

Father, it starts with loving you, and I do love you. Thank you. Thank you for loving me and being who you are in your nature. Thank you that knowing you better means knowing how to love better. Help me to share that love with others. And help me to love others around me. My wife. My children. My family. My coworkers. Our volunteers and donors for where I work. Our nonprofits clients. My friends. My community. Let your love flow through me to all of these, for their good and for mine.

I offer all of this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen