EPHESIANS EXTRA #7

PRODUCT OF THE POET

God provides everything His children need. Even the faith needed to trust in Jesus for salvation is a gracious gift from our Father. We did not perform some mighty feat or do an abundance of good deeds to be saved. No, our salvation was a gift—completely free of charge—because we could have never earned or deserved it. The good works that we do are the result, the product, of our being adopted into God’s forever family. Since we enjoy writing poetry ourselves, the Voice Translation really hit home with us. Our lives flow like poetry as “Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) writes our story, and the Holy Spirit living in us guides us to glorify the Lord in all we do. As we surrender each day to the Spirit’s control, we become a witness to the world, a picture of God’s grace, and the Father’s living love poem. God’s plan for us has always been that we become more and more like Jesus—a reflection of the Son. We cannot achieve our purpose all by ourselves. We must be clay in the Potter’s hand and the poem flowing from the Master Poet’s pen.

Father, thank You for taking our messed-up lives and re-creating us as something beautiful. Help us each day to relax in Your love and grace.