The desires of your heart

A Christian man (a church elder and Bible teacher) joked that when he died, he wanted to “come back” (be reincarnated) as my pampered cat. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 85, but happily, he accepted the gift of eternal life in his Lord.

Several ironies have captured media attention recently. A big-budget film called The Bucket List (the things you want to do before kicking the bucket – dying) was released in 2008; author and professor Dr. Randy Pausch, famed for his Carnegie-Mellon University “Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” succumbed to cancer; and Dave Freeman, co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die, actually died in an accident in his home, not on the horns of a Pamplona bull. (Dave Freeman CNN obituary)

Some people make lists of things they’ve dreamed of doing before they die: riding an elephant, running with the bulls, bungee-jumping in New Zealand, climbing Kilimanjaro, swimming in an Icelandic thermal lake, riding every roller coaster in America, or touring the Holy Land.

Others measure their lives in monuments such as walking their daughter down the wedding aisle, meeting a financial goal, patenting an invention, earning a scholastic degree, expressing music, dance, or visual art, or winning a prestigious award. Someone once said, “My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am.”

What’s on your “bucket list”? Have you made one? Making goals and keeping track of your progress in reaching them is actually a predictor of success. Just wishing and visualizing, but not acting strategically, won’t get your items checked off or that sense of satisfaction or reward when you reach accomplishment.

Your objectives, at least the priorities, will almost certainly change through the years of your life. The list you made 10 years ago will not be the same as the one you’ll make five years from now. But a list is the first step in your plan to reach the desires of your heart.

My bucket list includes:
1 Learn to speak French
2 Have my book published
3 Live and work a year in a foreign country
4 Play Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu at tempo
5 Learn to play drums and other percussion instruments
6 Discover every last ancestor on my family tree
7 Improve overall health by balanced living
8 Reach the bottom of the ever-growing to-be-read book stack

They’ll take application of tuition, budgeting, persistence, research, patience, and some risk-taking. They’ll take some phone calls, some first steps, some networking, some sacrifice. Probably a large sacrifice!

As Christians, we know that it’s not our goodness, performance, or ability to keep God’s laws that will make the difference at the judgment. It’s not even God’s grace plus our best efforts.

“This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’” Romans 1:17 NLT.

Faith in what? Faith in God’s ability – and desire – to fully love, fully forgive, and save eternally. Even our faith doesn’t come from internal fortitude. Faith itself is also the gift of God, as you’ll see in the verse below.

So what is the point of life-list-making in a Christian’s life, if it doesn’t get us to heaven? Glad you asked that! The apostle Peter made an all-purpose bucket list for use in this world:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:3-8 NIV.

Notice that Peter’s bucket list is about BEING, not DOING, and that he said “make every effort… in increasing measure… effective… productive.” Sounds like a strategic plan to me!

Maybe we need more than one bucket list. There are lists for temporal accomplishments, the relationships we form along the way, and the eternal list (the one we can take with us, the treasure laid up in Jesus’ care).

What would you put on your list before Jesus comes? How about:
1 Positive and sunny
2 Sweet and humble
3 Ready with a soft answer
4 Encouraging and ever-thankful
5 Affectionate and compassionate
6 Patient and understanding
7 Forgiving and merciful
8 Seeking grace with every step
9 Honorable and upright
10 Discerning but not judgmental

This last list, not really a bucket list, but maybe a kingdom list, will have eternal consequences, but not only for the list-maker. Everyone on the planet will be blessed in some measure. You can’t really check items off this list, but they are worthy of pursuit!

The kingdom list of Peter’s, or the one you develop, will be about a state of being, which is what the psalmist is talking about: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37:4-6 NIV.

It’s not about God providing a nice home, a great job, healing from disease, or a spouse if you pray hard enough or show enough faith. This verse is about the desires of your heart for commitment, trust, justice, and righteousness. These desires are about WHOSE you are, not WHAT you do. They are echoes of God’s desires for us.

So sharpen that pencil and apply it to paper. Make your bucket list, make your kingdom list, and maybe even a list that bridges both. Make a plan to accomplish your items. Live with purpose and forward direction. Don’t think so much about kicking the bucket, as “livin’ the life” with gusto. Do it Sans plus attendre, "without further waiting."

Father's Day gifts

Social studies and polls tell us that we all think we’re good drivers, but everyone else could stand some refresher courses – maybe even jail time.

“Could you be more annoying?” I silently fumed, following a clueless driver on my way to work. I would hope the answer from the driver would be, “Oh, sorry, I was chattering on my mobile phone while straddling both lanes at 20 miles per hour, and didn’t realize you needed to be somewhere on time. I’ll pull over and let you pass.” Instead, he suddenly stood on his brakes and blocked the intersection while waiting to make a left turn. I guess he could be more annoying!

It’s amazing how frequently life and limb can be endangered in a short distance from red-light runners, swervers, those who dart out from side streets, and who don’t use turn signals. 

I’m conscientious about the speed limit on surface streets, from concern for pedestrians and animals (plus a healthy respect for the radar-detecting motorcycle cop who lurks there sometimes). But on the freeway, I keep to the fast lane. 

So on the first day of driving a rental car in England, I drove just under the speed limit in the farthest-right lane (center lane on the left side of the road) so more-confident drivers could overtake me on the motorway. I concentrated on being safe, legal, and considerate – a righteous motorist indeed. Yet drivers frowned and mouthed words behind their windows. I finally realized that I was learning British driving in their fast lane. Fellow drivers said, essentially, “Could you be more annoying?” 

Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. Matt. 7:1-5 The Message 

Our heavenly Father has every right to crush us for our faults, even the ones we consider slight. He really is “holier-than-thou,” but you’d never find a critical spirit, or a sneer of contempt on His face. Instead, He sings and rejoices over us, tenderly wipes our tears, covers us with His feathers and bears us on His wings, dandles us on His own knees, runs to meet us and shower us with kisses, holds us in His arms and carries us when we’re weak, shoulders our yoke and burden, has plans for good and not for evil, takes us by hand through danger, is compassionate and merciful and forgiving, and gave Himself for us – not because we love Him, but because He loves us. 

This Father, perfect in every way, created us in His image – the image of a divine Lover. He created the angels to worship and serve Him, but us – just to love and be loved! He created us and He adopted us, so there’d be no mistaking that we belong to Him every perfect way, including dimensions we’ve not perceived. What a wonderful Father. 

Paul exclaimed, This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!  That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. Romans 8:15-21 The Message 

 

He alone is worthy to accuse and judge us for our faults. He’s the only one worthy to tell us about the dust motes and giant logs in our own eyes. But He doesn’t condemn us (John 3:17, Romans 8:1) or tell us we’re annoying (or bad drivers!), but simply that He loves us beyond our comprehension, and offers us joyful, eternal life in His kingdom, starting here and now. 

Every day is Father’s Day, and the gift from Abba is that He gives the inheritance, the gifts, the love, the realization of His will and word – to us! Such a deal. The children get the goods! 

No one can deny that that’s good news.