"God is not opposed to effort, but He is opposed to earning."
Effort comes as a response to the immense love of God. There is a desire to give oneself fully to God in response because we experienced and continue to experience life in the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is about the restoration of all things in this broken world, and it involves us putting every effort forward to be about this Kingdom of His.
Earning is what you do out of obligation. You want to be and do good because God says so, not because you've found that way of living to be true. Earning is action put forth to justify yourself before God, which none of us can do. Earning, I would say, is the impression most people get when they think about religion/church/Christianity.
But Jesus isn't about religion. His doesn't want our obligated duties - he wants followers who've found that His way is the best way to live ... the most true ... and he invites us to put every effort forward to living in this truth. Effort comes from the heart ... earning comes from the tallies we keep in our mind.
I'm challenged each day to give my full effort to God and to trust the grace given to me in Jesus. At times this is at odds with the darker side of me that wants to justify myself to God and others. The results of this type of thinking lead me to live to prove myself ... the world begins to revolve around me. Putting full effort toward the Kingdom of God leaves the results to Him (my goodness, what others think of me, the definitions I and others have of success, etc) ... I'm simply called to respond to him in efforts that come from a heart of love.
