Bucket List

I had a phone call the other day where I mentioned the little adventure I have planned to run this summer. My friend said, "Oh, bucket list!"  I replied with something along the lines of, "Just something I thought I would attempt before I get any older."

I appreciate my friend's excitement, but I don’t really function with a bucket list mindset. Sure, there are things I would like to do in life. There are goals that I have set in the past, and there may be other goals set in the future. But there is no list of things I would like to do before I "kick the bucket" and no longer have the time or opportunity.

The obstacle for me and the bucket list idea is that is has a tendency to value the things of this world beyond the things of the world to come. And as a Christian, that could be a problem. Make a list of ultimate things to pursue and then get them done and cross them off during the unknown amount of time remaining. It can put the focus on the things of today, without giving the promise that lies ahead it's due. And the promise is pretty amazing.

1 Peter 1: 3-5 puts it like this:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

The idea of an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading is pretty amazing all on its own, but Peter adds that it is "kept in heaven, for you." This isn't an abstract inheritance, but something personal awaiting each and every Christian.

But what could it be? The answer to that particular question will just have to wait on God's timing.

If you have a bucket list, that is fine, but keep in mind that for you there may be much something better. If you are a Christian one day you are going to come into something that will make every single thing on your list look paltry and insignificant by comparison.

And today I'll close with a link to a really good song that casts our vision forward:

 Christ is Mine Forevermore

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.