“God is rich in mercy.” “You are saved by God’s grace.” That was vital, said the letter to the Ephesians, but it was not the end of the story; it was just the beginning. God saved us FROM a broken, self-seeking way of life, for a very specific purpose. God’s mission, what Jesus called “the kingdom of God,” is to restore not just individuals, but this whole broken world to the divine purpose. And God saves us FOR a new life as God’s human instruments, joining in God’s work to reclaim our broken world.

• John Wesley applied the idea that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good things” to everyday life through the Methodist Church’s Second General Rule: “By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men.” What are one or two “sorts” of goodness you didn’t used to practice, but do now as a Christ follower? Use the phrase “doing good of every possible sort” to spark your imagination about new sorts of goodness that might be possible in your life.
• Ephesians 2:10 stated, in a general way, the life purpose of every follower of Jesus. Spend time in prayer and thought. Try to write down, and keep handy, the specific ways in which you live out, and intend to live out, the life purpose laid out for you in Ephesians 2:10.