What amazing, wonderful, life-giving, joyous news--because of God's GREAT LOVE for us we have been made alive with Christ! God's inexpressable grace has made it possible for us to be saved through faith in Jesus!
Because of this great gift from God, we have been created by Him to do good! Imagine with me, each of us are God's workmanship! When I do my woodcarving, I have in mind the image of what I desire to create. I begin with a plain piece of board and I draw on it the image I desire to create in the wood. Afterwards, I begin to carve the image until it is completed. This is how God works in each of us. When we are saved through faith the image of Christ is placed on the "board" of our lives and God begins to work in us in such a way that soon the image and character of Jesus begins to show forth in our lives! As the image of Christ grows in each of us we in turn are able to do works in our lives that show forth the glory of God in us!
The key is that we continue to allow the Spirit of God to work in our lives in such a way that we yield to the work of God and more and more Jesus can be seen in us! 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of hte Lord, because your know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."