My Part, God’s Part

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”  Philippians 2:12–13 (NIV)

Have you ever stopped to think about the part you play in your walk with Christ?

Salvation is a gift. We can’t earn it or purchase it, and we can never be good enough to deserve it. Jesus paid the price for us when He gave His life on the cross. Grace reached down and offered us what we could never accomplish on our own, and although we cannot work for our salvation, Scripture tells us that we are to work out our salvation. There is a difference.

Paul says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you…”

God has His part. and we have ours.

God saves us and changes our hearts.

God gives us His Spirit, His grace, and His strength.

God works in us, but we have to surrender. We do this by opening His Word and praying.

We choose to forgive and love when it isn't easy. We have to tell the truth when compromise would be more comfortable. We have to choose holiness when the world tells us to follow the crowd. We have to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

Just like muscles become stronger when they are exercised, our faith becomes stronger when we actually put it into practice. Sometimes God will allow us to walk through circumstances that stretch us, challenge us, and even shake us, but those moments can become spiritual training grounds. What once felt impossible may eventually become evidence of how far God has brought us.

Yesterday's faith ceiling can become tomorrow's faith floor, and through it all, God is conforming us more and more into the image of His Son.

Romans 8:29 tells us that we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

The goal is to not just call ourselves Christians who attend church and know Bible verses, but to look more like Jesus by loving and forgiving as He did. We want to serve and speak more like Jesus, and become living evidence that He has changed us.

What Are People Seeing When They Look at Your Life?

I heard a question that has stayed with me ever since.

If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Wow, imagine standing before a courtroom while someone presented the evidence of your life. Would they find evidence in the way you love and treat people? How about evidence in the way you respond when someone hurts you? Do you speak with kindness and forgiveness?

If someone was watching you, could they tell you belong to Jesus by your integrity and generosity? Does your faith shine through your life?  

How we live matters. Our choices, our words, our attitudes, and choosing obedience matters.

We have a great responsibility as followers of Christ to recognize that someone may be watching our life and learning about Jesus through us. We may be the only glimpse of Jesus someone encounters. There may be someone who never steps inside a church, but they may encounter Christ through the way we love them. Someone may never open Scripture, but they may hear the Gospel through our testimony.

All this doesn't mean we have to be perfect. Thank God for that! It means we need to be real.

We are going to stumble and make mistakes. We are going to have moments when we don't get it right.

When we fall, when we fail, we can get back up and repent. When we are weak, we can lean on God’s strength. Christianity isn't about pretending we have it all together, it's about allowing Jesus to continually transform us.

What Kind of Legacy Are You Leaving?

One day, everything we worked so hard to accumulate on this earth will remain behind.

Our houses will stay and cars will stay. Our bank accounts and our possessions will stay.

All that we have accomplished will eventually fade.

People are what truly matter eternally.

I've heard it said that the only thing we can take to heaven is people.

We can't carry our possessions through those pearly gates, but we can leave behind a legacy of faith.

We can plant seeds, and tell someone about Jesus.

We can disciple our children and encourage them.

We can pray for the lost and love the unlovable.

We can serve those in need and point people toward the cross.

We may never know the impact our obedience had on someone else's eternity.

A kind word may have kept someone from giving up.

A prayer may have been the seed that eventually led someone to Christ.

A testimony may have given someone hope.

A simple act of love may have opened a door for the Gospel.

You may never see the harvest, but that doesn't mean your seed wasn't planted. 

When people remember us, will they remember what we owned, or how we loved?

Will they remember our accomplishments, or our faithfulness?

Will they remember our opinions, or our compassion?

Will they remember how loudly we proclaimed Christ, or how faithfully we lived for Him?

Our greatest legacy won't be found in what we’ve accumulated, but in the lives we touched for Jesus.

My Part and God's Part

God has already done what only God could do. He gave His Son. Jesus paid the price.

Grace opened the door and salvation became available.

The Holy Spirit works within us, and now we get to respond.

🎯My part is surrender.

🎯God's part is transformation.

🎯My part is obedience.

🎯God's part is empowerment.

🎯My part is faithfulness.

🎯God's part is the fruit.

🎯My part is planting the seed.

🎯God's part is bringing the harvest.

🎯My part is saying yes.

🎯God's part is working through my yes.

So today, let's take our faith out of the church building and into the world. Let's live what we say we believe. Let's love like Jesus, serve like Jesus, and forgive like Jesus.

Let's speak life and walk in truth. As believers, we can be bold and shine our light in the dark places.

Philippians 2:14–15 reminds us to do everything without grumbling or arguing so that we may shine “like stars in the sky” as we hold firmly to the word of life.

This is our calling: to shine bright, not for ourselves and not so people will praise us. We shine bright so that when people see our light, they will ultimately see Him.

So, dear reader, I want to leave you with these questions:

If someone followed you for the next thirty days, would they see enough evidence in your life to know that you belong to Jesus? Would they see your life, your home, and your words preaching something? How about your choices, are they preaching a life that belongs to Jesus? Your legacy is being written one day at a time. Let's make sure our lives tell the right story.

I am here to tell you that Jesus saved me and He changed me. Jesus is still working on me and everything I am is for His glory.

Salvation may be God's gift to us, but what we do with that gift can become our offering back to Him.

Two Action Steps

1. Ask yourself: “Would there be enough evidence?”

Spend some quiet time with God this week and honestly examine your life. Ask Him to reveal any area where your actions don't line up with your faith. Don't condemn yourself, surrender that area to Him and ask Him to help you become more like Jesus.

2. Intentionally plant one seed for eternity.

Choose one person this week to encourage, pray for, serve, forgive, invite to church, share your testimony with, or simply love well. Don't worry about whether you see the harvest. Be faithful with the seed God has placed in your hand.

Father,

Thank You for the precious gift of salvation that I could never earn and never deserve. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the price for my sin and for making a way for me to have new life in You. I don't want to simply call myself a Christian.  

Lord, I ask You work in me, change me, and shape me. I want my life to reflect Christ.

Convict me where I need correction. Soften the places in my heart that have become hard. Remove anything that doesn't look like You. Teach me to love when it's difficult, forgive when I've been hurt, serve when it's inconvenient, speak truth with grace, and choose obedience even when no one is watching.

Father, let my life be evidence. If someone is watching me, let them see Jesus.

If someone is hurting, let them find hope through me.

If someone is lost, let my life point them toward You.

If someone is reading the pages of my life, let the story they see be one of Your grace, mercy, redemption, and love.

Help me remember that everything I have on this earth is temporary. When this life is over, I don't want my greatest legacy to be what I owned, what I accomplished, or how successful I appeared. I want people to know Jesus because they knew me. Let me plant seeds that will outlive me.

Help me leave behind a legacy of faith that reaches my children, my grandchildren, my community, and generations I may never even meet.

When I stand before You one day, Lord, may I hear those beautiful words:

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Until that day, help me faithfully do my part while trusting You to do what only You can do.

My life belongs to You. My story belongs to You. My future belongs to You. May everything I do point back to You.

In Jesus' name, Amen. ❤️

Today's song 🎵 🎶

“Legacy” by Nichole Nordeman,

Author: Priscilla Campbell 

Editor: Christine Platt