Each year, Ten-8 selects a verse of the year to help challenge and guide our team. Our 2026 verse of the year can be found in Ephesians 2:10 (NIV), “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” When Paul shared these words with the believers in Ephesus, he wasn’t just providing a review of theological history. Paul was challenging them to step into their new identity. He was reminding them of who they had become and what God intended for their future.

 

Ephesians 2:1–9 (NIV) provides the backdrop leading up to verse 10. Paul begins with a blunt reminder: “We were dead.” He was not suggesting that we were physically dead, rather spiritually lifeless. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (vs.1). Dead things cannot revive themselves. They cannot progress, achieve, or perform their way back to life. But then comes the good news: “Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ…” (vs. 4–5). Alive! This is our miracle of salvation. We didn’t climb up to God. God came down to us. We didn’t earn His approval. He poured grace over our brokenness. Paul emphasizes this again so that no one can misunderstand: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” (vs. 9).

 

Salvation is God’s gift that is freely given, not achieved. Grace is not only how we enter the family of God, but it is also what sustains us. Paul doesn’t just explain what we’ve been saved from. He also highlights what we have been saved for. And this is where Ephesians 2:10 shines with purpose and hope. The passage begins by saying, “We are God’s handiwork.” The Greek word for handiwork, poiēma, means “masterpiece,” or “work of art”. You are not an accident. You are not a random assortment of abilities and experiences. You were intentionally created and shaped by the hands of a loving Creator. Paul continues, saying, “You were created in Christ Jesus for good works.” This was not so we could earn salvation, because salvation has already been given. Good works are not the cost of grace. Rather, they are the “fruit” or evidence of grace.

 

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” This is the foundation of Ephesians 2. God’s love transforms us. His grace equips us. And His Spirit empowers us for all the things He has uniquely created for each of us. It is amazing to think that God prepared these good works in advance for each of us specifically. The Author of time wrote opportunities into your story. Opportunities to reflect His character, extend His compassion, build His kingdom, and point others to His grace. We are not wandering aimlessly. We are walking with divine purpose.

 

Let 2026 be a year marked by intentional alignment with God’s purpose. Each of us that believe should be reminded that we are truly His handiwork. We were made alive, saved by grace, and equipped for His mission. As such, our calling is clear: we need to walk boldly in the good works God has prepared for each of us.

 

Challenge:

Ask God daily, “What good works have you prepared for me today?” Then commit to those works with courage and joy. Remember, He has already placed in your path people to encourage, burdens to share, ministries to strengthen, prayers to pray, generosity to extend, and steps of faith to finally take.