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Nothing is so satisfying as having a list at the end of the day with all the boxes checked off. And nothing makes me feel defeated like an unchecked list that only grows longer tomorrow.

It has been said that the human heart will always try to make our salvation about us, what we do, and not about Him and what He has done. We preach salvation by grace alone, but often we drift backwards and take it upon ourselves to earn it.

If we are truly free in Christ, why do so many of us feel the crushing weight of our own and others’ expectations? Maybe it is those to-do lists we write for ourselves. We all have lists; here’s mine on any given day:

  • Get up early and make the bed (Greg says this is a fixation with me. He jokingly tells that I have been known to make the bed with him still in it. Now, I have never done that, but trust me, I would have if I could get away with it! I do love a perfectly made bed.)
  • Wash my face and put in my contacts
  • Come downstairs and make coffee
  • Read the Daily Light devotional
  • Open my prayer journal and pray over these lists
  • Open my Bible and read (Robert Murray Cheyenne’s Bible reading plan in D.A. Carson’s For the Love of God)
  • Go for a run, or spin, or walk
  • Shower and dress for the day (This holds another list of things that I will not bore you with.)
  • Back to my desk, check my e-mail, empty all the junk (I love the delete button), and read over the rest of the important stuff
  • Complete the Virtue Bible lesson for the given day
  • Check the calendar for appointments and make my list of “to do” errands
  • Plan what I’ll make for dinner that night
  • Cook, clean, wash whatever is necessary

 

As I write my lists I am reminded that if I aim at nothing, I am bound to hit it!

Now, the reason I tell you this isn’t to make you feel better or worse about your own list. (“That is a lot of Bible stuff to do,” or “Wow, she has a really short list compared to mine!”) The reason I tell you is that I want you to think about how the lists you make affect you.

When we check all the boxes on the list, we allow ourselves to indulge in that sweet sense of accomplishment. We lay our heads on the pillow that night and breathe a sweet sigh. Done. I did well, didn’t I?

But then, there are days—sometimes consecutive days—when we wake up late, forget our devotions, run out the door, and blow it all off. At the end of those days we may have watched too much TV, lost our temper, ate a bunch of junk food, and then the kicker: scrolled through others’ Instagrams and compared ourselves. Why do all these people’s lives look so ideal and orderly, and ours doesn’t?

Do we chuck the lists, forget the discipline, pass on our goals, and adopt a qué será será attitude? Let’s stop right here and take this moment to remember. Our hearts are hardwired by sin to naturally drift from a grace-based view of our salvation to one that is law-based. The crux of the matter is not what is on your list, but why you have the list to begin with.

In Christ we are free—free from the endless doing and trying to deserve God’s approval and love. In Him we are perfectly accepted, loved, and forgiven, not just for yesterday’s failures, but today’s and tomorrow’s as well.

When we live in that kind of perfect love, we are free—free to respond in a deeper, more loving kind of obedience than the Pharisees prized. We no longer live under the law, but at the same time, the law, like a signpost, points us onto the sure path of what is right and pleasing to the Lord.

Remember, our Savior Jesus Christ is the one who takes all burdens off. We are now free to obey, not out of servile fear, but with loving confidence and assurance in our gracious heavenly Father.

 

“Come unto me all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

 

Jesus’ last word on the cross was tetelestai, “It is finished!” With this in mind, go attack that list!

 

At the end of the day,

If you had your quiet time . . . or not

If you said your prayers . . . or not

If you made your bed . . . or not

If you yelled at your kids . . . or not

If you shared your faith . . . or not

Remember, your standing before God is based not on what you do, but on what He did!

 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

 

Not the labour of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

 

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, or I die!

 

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When mine eyes shall close in death,

When I soar to worlds unknown,

See Thee on Thy judgement throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.

 

“Rock of Ages”

Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady