At any given time, I have several lists going. This
time of year, my lists multiply, until the Post-Its no longer cut it. I
recently had to start a dedicated notebook full of lists. (I admire those of
you who use phones for such things. As my tech skills are pretty much maxed out
with texting, it’s unlikely I will be joining you any time soon.)
There’s one list I’ve never made, though this is the
year I’ll start. It was prompted by a question our pastor asked last weekend:
“Do you live like you believe in Christmas?” Not that you believe in the
holiday and therefore put up a tree and stockings and some lights. Do you—do
I—live the rest of the year acting like Christmas matters?
While sort of listening to the rest of the sermon, I
started pondering what it would look like to live like I believe in Christmas,
like it matters to my life. As is often the case, a list formed in my head. Here’s
the check list I came up with to see if Christmas is genuinely affecting the
other 363 days of my life each year:
- Am I spending time with Jesus?
- Am I looking for glory for myself, or can I let God have all the glory?
- Do I spend more time trying to control the people and situations around me, or more time actively surrendering them to the Lord?
- Am I looking out for myself, or looking out for ways God wants to use me?
- Do I have hope? Do I talk and act like I have hope?
- Is self-protection my number-one goal in any relationship, or is it being authentic and trying to love the other person well?
- Do I live as one beaten down by the world (i.e., whining and complaining), or as one who believes the battle is won and I’m on the winning side?
- Am I willing to give grace to the people who annoy/confuse/hurt me the most?
- How tightly am I holding onto the things of this world? Would I freely let them go if God asked me to?
- Do I live like I believe that this world is not my home?
- Am I aware of my sin? Do I try to hide it or do I admit it? Do I ask for forgiveness when I need to?
- When’s the last time I loved or served someone well and didn’t tell anyone else about it?
- Am I asking God for big things and keeping my eyes peeled for His response?
- Is my life marked by gratitude? Would the people around me say that it is?
It would be a lot easier just to get to work on my
errand list and shove this list in a forgotten drawer somewhere. These are hard,
soul-searching questions. They’re harder than some make-believe “naughty or
nice” list that causes me to look around and conclude that I’m doing a lot
better than some other people. I know I’m not “naughty,” but am I living the
way I want to live? Like Christmas affects me every day of the year? Hard
questions, but important ones. Christmas, Immanuel, God with us—these things
matter. I want to live like they matter to me.
