Agreed and agreed. We do good works as a fruit of our salvation. We do not earn adoption. We love God because he first loved us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This system you have is totally backwards man. It's works salvation. Salvation is by grace.
Salvation is by grace because God didn't HAVE to place the Tree of Life in our midst.
He could have just let us live out our worldly lives and perish.
So the opportunity to eat that Fruit is a free-gift that we couldn't possibly have earned for ourselves or claim any 'right' to.
And though He feeds the birds of the air, the worms don't float up to them in the trees where they're sitting.
They have to 'work' to gather the food He has provided, or they'll die.
And so, we too, must choose to eat of the Fruit of the Tree of Life if we want to 'Know God' and 'have' Love in ourselves.
And that Fruit that He has made available to us is Jesus.
And so the "Work of God" is to believe in Jesus, which is a struggle because the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one.
Therefore Jesus says "strive", "many will try, but few will be able".
Anyway, that's how I have come to understand my reality.
Nevertheless, if I am mistaken, then I pray The LORD show me otherwise.
And please say a prayer for me.