The T0-Do List I Didn’t Create.

So, we’re here, 2020. I’m a little late on this bandwagon (seeing that it is now February). As Instagram feeds are no longer filled with “words of the year”(which I will say I have considered some of those) and gold balloons with the numbers 2020, instead there are gym pictures, healthy eating tips, and sales on 2020 planners. Good for you is the silent whisper our hearts renown as we turn to our own list of hopes, expectations, and goals for the coming year. Our desire? To accomplish our to-do lists with ease and perfection.

But, we are missing a great piece if our eyes are only set on a one way ambition track. There is a to-do list that I/you didn’t create, I know…a little off-setting. It is a to-do list that deserves all of our attention and acceptance. While we may not have created it, we are to cultivate it. This is the to-do list that God has created for us. Ephesians 2:10 gives us great insight…

” For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ” – Ephesians 2:10 –

Ephesians 2:10 shows us that we are “God’s handiwork”, we are uniquely created and designed to do “good works” that glorify God and further His kingdom. Notice, it’s not a list of things to consider, but a list of things to do. We should not be asking God to comply to our to-do lists, but we should daily ask God that His to-do list become our own.

The ways in which God works are not always visible to us. Most times we pray and what God does from there, we’re not so sure. Yet, there are some things that God has put on your (my) to-do list. Let’s take a look at some of them now…

• “Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
• ” Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. ” Philippians 2:14-15
• “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength…And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” Deuteronomy 6:5-6
• “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 1 John 13: 34-35
• “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit  of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4

God has called us to rejoice always, pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances. He has called us to completely refrain from grumbling and arguing, in doing so, we are being blameless and pure, thus shining like stars amidst a warped and crooked generation. He has called us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and strength, a command that Moses gave to the Israelites and one that later Jesus repeated to the thousands of hungry listeners. Through John, the Holy Spirit influenced him to write that we are to love one another, in doing so, we are showing Christ to everyone around us. He has called us to abide in Him so that we will bear much fruit.

These are just some of the things. There is a whole Bible to see and read more of what God has called us to do.

When Jesus Christ took on flesh, He was fully aware of the to-do list that God had created for Him. But for Him, it was more than a to-do list, but a life to give. It says it right in John 3:16, the verse we have come to memorize. “For God so loved the world He GAVE”, my emphasis added. More than just a box to check off. His “food” was fulfilling what God had planned for Him to do (John 4:34). He came to save and not to condemn(Matthew 5:17, John 3:17). Jesus chose to do the will of the one who sent Him, and we need to follow suit.

““My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” – John 4:34 –

Having simply our toes dangling into the water of 2020, we should make these commands our habits. It’s easy for me to type that, but hard to live it. Maybe you feel the same. It’s hard enough getting up each morning let alone taking on changing habits. But, God gives grace for each moment. And for that, I am glad.

With Christ like bubbling love,

Julia