Paul is in prison as he writes the letter of Ephesians- serving the church from prison. In chapter two, he is reminding them of what they were before the Lord saved them and their position now in Christ: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). These two verses have either been memorized or are at least recognizable to most Christians as a bulwark of the Christian Faith. Saved not because of anything we have done or could do. How wonderfully freeing!

Unfortunately, however, many stop at that point in the verse as well as in their Christian lives. So, let’s not stop at verse 9; let us move forward to verse 10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are not saved merely for heaven. We are saved to serve here on earth.

“Created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Many Christians actively rejoice in the fact that they have been born again and rightly so. But how do those who are God’s workmanship, and I’m speaking to all of us who claim the name of Christ, actively serve in the body of Christ? We can easily make excuses for why we are not serving like:

• My past
• I’m not gifted like others
• My finances, etc.

So then, how should we view Ephesians 2:10 in light of our excuses? “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

Think of serving as a kitchen table. Most folks have one. Sandy and I have a kitchen table. We made it together in March of 2015- before we had any married children or grandchildren. Let me tell you about our kitchen table.

She wanted an 8 ft table so we would have plenty of room for the family – we had one daughter at home then. Its design is not original. Sandy found a design on Pinterest, but it is for sure not an exact duplicate! It was not intentionally designed, and the craftsmen and the craftsmanship were flawed. The measurement is a little off; it is 8 ft 3.5 inches long. It’s not made from Mahogany, Oak, Walnut, or Teak, just the least expensive, straightest pine boards we could find from Home Depot. (You know how hard that was?) One of the legs was cut slightly shorter than the others – but you wouldn’t know because it has a pad underneath it to make up the difference. It’s not completely flat on top, and the boards are not evenly spaced. Speaking of the top of the table, it is made up of 7 boards, 5 of which are 7 inches wide, and two are 9 inches wide. The chairs that surround it don’t match. It was designed to seat 8 people, but many times it has accommodated 10 or more. It has numerous fork and knife marks in it. If you look carefully, you will see letters of the alphabet, along with full words, imprinted into the wood as a result of homework assignments and homeschooling assignments of grandchildren.

Our kitchen table – despite its irregularities – has served its purpose- to serve. It has served in many ways other than what we thought it would be used for when we built it. If old tables could talk, I’m sure our kitchen table would say the same! Our Kitchen table has been used as a ladder, a stage, a painting table, a coloring table, a birthday celebration table, a laughing table, a crying table, a planning table, a game table, a study table, a counseling table, an afternoon sing-along table, and even a fort!

Our kitchen table is always ready and willing to serve. No matter the time of day, it’s always there, reliable. When I come up into the kitchen and see our Kitchen table, I don’t see its one short leg or its many flaws; I just think about how well it has served friends and family.

You are God’s table. God designed you intentionally—with every quirk and uneven edge, He is the master craftsman. You are useful to Him not because you are flawless, but because you belong to Him. When we stop chasing approval, God turns our ordinary into holy.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10