True selves

Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV) You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. The theology here from Paul has given us ample thought, discussion, and even debate over the millennia.  As a Lutheran, verses 8 & 9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast" are rather like mother's milk.  I was bred on them. And yet verse 10 is what keeps me going, reminding me not to be dismissive of "good works" in thinking about justification by faith alone. We are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works.  That's it.  It's who we are.  Who we are meant to be.   Our true selves. Our whole and complete selves. Forgiveness and being made right through Christ is only half of the story. We are made right to be set free from the prison that our selfishness holds us in.  In modern language maybe we'd say our ego. When we let go of that, and our faith instead leads us to remember who God created us to be - serving and loving our neighbor - then we are truly and complete free.  We are who God intended us to be.  Our true selves. It is, I have discovered, a life's journey.  One not unlike a winding river that brings us forward and then on detours out of the way.  Freedom is not easily accepted sometimes.  Reality and truth also often take time to accept. But the gift has been given to us and revealed to us.  Our true selves await and the gift of realizing it and living into it is our true reward. Lord you have set me free from the bonds of sin to live into the full and abundant life you have prepared for me.  Remind me each day of this journey of life so that I may latch on with joy and hope to this life of purpose and meaning.  Amen