Wouldn’t it be great to be able to periodically go on retreat and spend a week alone evaluating where we are with our lives? Almost none of us have the opportunity or resources to do that. A reasonable alternative is to more frequently run through a quick check list to get a reading of how we are doing, a periodic report card.
Here’s a suggested five question list:
1. Am I stepping out?
No, I don’t mean am I a frequent party person? We’ve heard it all. The Christian walk is a matter of one step at a time. If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling back. What we need to do is frequently check our position. Am I one step further along with my God than I was yesterday, last week or last month? If we aren’t taking one step at a time, years will past and then we will realize that we have “wasted” our lives and become stagnant.
2. Whom do I fear?
Do I spend time concerned about whether my life pleases God? Or do I worry about what someone else thinks? The problem here is that even if that “someone else” is an important person in my life, we are not to live to please anyone but God. Some of us live to please ourselves. Others are “people pleasers.” We believe we are a better person if we put others first, and perhaps we are. But the key is to put God first. We need to seek the face of God to learn and to do His will.
3. What’s my place?
We all have a role to play in the body of Christ. If we are not continually evaluating what role we are to play and ensure we are playing it, we become dead body parts and His mission is incomplete. At stages of our lives we may be called to focus on our own growth, but we are never called perpetually there. Who is feeding us? Whom are we feeding? What has God put in our hearts as needing to be done. Are we doing it or hoping someone else will?
4. Am I connecting?
If daily we pray the Our Father, we daily acknowledge that we are sisters and brothers of Our Lord. Are we connecting with the other parts of the body? The best gauge of our connectivity is our listening and loving. Do we listen to others? We all have a need to be listened to which means we all have a duty to listen. By listening we show our love. There are multiple opportunities to serve others, but only if we have “heard” what the needs are.
5. Am I focused?
In our media filled world we can easily waste a ton of time absorbing information, watching TV, online, reading, chatting. We need to wake up each morning ready to hear what God has for us to do that day (Our Daily Bread) and spend the day getting it done. Don’t worry about what we should have done yesterday or may be called to do tomorrow. Do today what’s needed today.
How are you doing?
Be blessed.
Nick
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