What Matters Most to God: Christ Living Through Us
Reflections on Living by Grace, Not Self-Effort
Do All Things for God?
I recently heard someone say, “All that truly matters to God is what we do for Him.” At first, it seemed right—we are, after all, called to glorify God in everything. But the more I considered it, the more uneasy I felt.
For many, a statement like this can unintentionally send the wrong message: that the Christian life is about performance, about proving our worth to God through what we do. But isn’t the beauty of the gospel found in the fact that we can’t earn His favor? What truly matters to God isn’t our striving but His Son.
Faith: The Foundation of Pleasing God
The Bible makes it clear: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is the foundation of a life that pleases Him, and it operates in two vital ways:
Faith Passively Trusts
Faith begins with trusting God—believing that His promises are true, His Word is reliable, and His Spirit is sufficient to work in and through us. Trusting means surrendering our self-effort and relying fully on Him.Faith Actively Obeys
Faith also expresses itself through obedience. This is not striving in our own strength but responding to His Spirit’s leading. When we obey out of faith, it is Christ Himself working through us, fulfilling His purposes for His glory.
Both aspects of faith are empowered by God’s grace. His grace enables us to trust Him fully and to follow Him faithfully.
The Source of What Truly Matters
Scripture is clear: apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Our self-effort, no matter how well-intentioned, doesn’t please God. Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that even our best works, when done apart from Him, are like “filthy rags.”
What God treasures is the life of His Son. Paul captures this so well in Galatians 2:20:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
This exchanged life—Christ living in us—moves the focus from what we do for God to what He does through us.
Faith and the Exchanged Life
It’s through faith that we embrace the reality of the exchanged life. Trusting God to live His life in us and through us is an act of faith, and obeying His leading is the fruit of that faith. As we yield to Him, we experience His grace enabling us to do what we could never accomplish on our own, and to be what we could never be on our own.
Martha and Mary: Rest Before Service
The story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 paints this picture vividly. Martha was consumed with doing things for Jesus—good things—but her busyness led to frustration. Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him.
When Martha complained, Jesus gently corrected her:
"You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
This isn’t a call to neglect service but a reminder that true service flows from a place of faith—resting in Christ and trusting Him to lead. Sitting with Him comes first; only then can our actions reflect His life in us.
God’s Work, Not Ours
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in.
Did you catch that? We walk in these works—they aren’t something we create through our own strength or initiative. When we live by faith, trusting Christ within us, He leads us into the good works He has already planned.
The difference is significant:
Self-effort says, “I must do for God.”
Grace-led living says, “Christ will do in and through me.”
Reflect & Respond
Take a moment to reflect:
Are you striving to do things for God, or are you living by faith, trusting Christ to work in and through you?
How might your perspective shift if you focused on abiding in Him rather than performing for Him?
Consider this prayer:
“Lord, thank You for showing me that without faith it is impossible to please You. Thank You for leading me to trust You fully and obey You faithfully. I praise you for teaching me to rest in Your grace and allow Christ to live in me and through me. Amen.”
A Final Thought
Faith is the key to a life that pleases God. It begins with trusting Him and grows into obediently following His leading. When we yield to Christ, every action, no matter how small, is transformed by His grace. Let’s stop striving and start living by faith, trusting that His life in us is what truly matters.