Devotion: The Work of Faith, the Gift of Salvation

“What can we do to perform the works of God?’ they asked. Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28–29 CSB)

We have been given a wonderful gift through Christ, yet we may feel we don’t deserve it. We may feel we need to work for it. We are right in that we don’t deserve it. However, we’re wrong in thinking we can earn a gift. Christmas was just a few months ago. How many people on your list earned their gift? Most likely no one. A gift is just that—a gift, an undeserved expression of love.

God’s gift is no different. His grace and salvation cannot be earned. He gives us a love we have only to accept. That is all. Jesus has already done the work.

In John 6:28–29, the disciples had just seen Jesus miraculously feed five thousand people. They had been traveling with him for a while and had observed him at work. Yet they were still looking for a sign that he was the Lord. They wanted to work for the Lord, but Jesus knew their hearts. They were still focused on the material things of earth and didn’t have the eternal focus of heaven.

We may shake our heads at the disciples’ constant doubt, but aren’t we the same way? It’s difficult for us to comprehend things of eternal magnitude. Earthly things and desires can cloud our vision immensely. We are like the disciples in that we want to perform the work of God, but we are also like them in that we focus too much on earthly matters.

Jesus told the disciples they were doing the work of God by believing he was the one whom God sent. Maybe that seemed too easy or small to them. Does it seem so to us? It’s easy to get lost in the idea that we are insignificant, to believe the lie that we don’t make a difference for the Lord. We wonder how our plain, day-to-day activities can be considered doing the Lord’s work.

The Lord desires a relationship with you. When we cultivate our relationship with him, works driven by faith and love will follow.

Faith is what matters to the Lord. Just as he did with the disciples, Jesus knows our hearts and motivations. We will fall short, our works will not be enough, but don’t be discouraged. The Lord is there.

We are to revel in our relationship with the Lord and reflect his goodness to the world. Believe in the One whom the Lord has sent.

Dear Lord, thank you for sending your Son and offering us grace, mercy, and salvation. We will never understand the magnitude of your love for us, but help us draw closer to you and share your love with the world. Amen

Scripture for Reflection

If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself. (James 2:15–17 CSB)

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23–24 CSB)

You are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift. (Ephesians 2:8 CSB)

Reach for More

Make an extra effort to connect with the Lord this week through his Word. Praise the Lord for his gifts of grace, mercy, and salvation. Pray about how you can honor him this week with your actions. And know that you are invited to share how the Lord is working in your life with us in The Glorious Table Community on Facebook and on social media using the hashtag #tgtreachformore. We’d love to hear your story!

Dana Herndon is a writer and blogger as well as an elementary and middle school teacher. She and her husband live in Georgia with their three children. In addition to teaching and writing, Dana loves to read, watch Food Network and HGTV, follow politics, and paddleboard. She blogs at danaherndon.com.

Photograph © Paula May, used with permission