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 2.10
NRSV)
Now please do not misunderstand. We do not do good works in the hope that they will save us. We have already been saved by Christ's death on the cross. Good works are our response to that salvation.
Later in this same epistle Paul asks followers of Christ to walk in a manner "worthy of the calling you have received." The word WORTHY has its roots in the language of scales and measurements. It means to create equivalence, literally to "bring up the other beam of the scale."
God acts first and places the weight of his love and forgiveness on a plate at one beam on the scale. We do deeds of loving kindness to balance out the other side in acknowledgment of what God has done for us.
Loving God, may I touch others with your blessings. Amen.