Real Life Examples of Tension Between Works and Grace

Yesterday I wrote about the tension between freedom in Christ and the presence of (and even need for?) works in life. This isn't going to be a long post as I'm rushing off for yet another birthday dinner (gotta love Birth Week) but I think it hits at the heart of the tension.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. - Ephesians 2:8

We were created for good works and thankfully have the grace to perform them. I don't work toward righteousness for the sake of my salvation or even self-purification. I've come short too many times for that. Rather, someone else has already done the heavy lifting, I just have to show up and do what I can. And if I can't make the world a better place, that's OK, but that doesn't mean I can't try.