Life in Christ or Checking the Box?

Life in Christ or checking the box?  This is a question that makes me think more.  Let’s puzzle on this.

I tend to live life as a series of projects like this blog I am writing for example. I am  a classic box checker

Drank water when I first got up, check

Read Bible in the morning, no check

Start my faith blog, check

Pray for Lily to come to faith, check

The list goes on and on, and my dreams are usually about moving a project forward step by step.

I think it could be argued that this is not life nor life in Christ.

However, enjoying every carefree day spontaneously with no thought of God is also not life in Christ.

 

Life in Christ or Checking the Box – a Deeper Look

As per usual, there are two ditches. and one path. We want the disciplines, but also want to be free in Christ.  Hebrews says:

⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

And I Corinthians

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Then Jesus words add more context:

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus teaching was not rules as much as principles and images of the Kingdom of God. He never said how often to pray, read the Bible, or when to go to church. He further adds:

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus clearly does not want me to love checking my boxes nor does my family. In some ways, I am set free,  but my box/project life needs to be set free still.  How about another verse?

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

and

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

This sentence follows Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit. Let me list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

One could chart on a wall how we are doing on expressing all 9. Update all 5 daily and the whole family gets to list how they are experiencing the 9 from you.  This might be more daylight than many of us can  bear. However, I want to note the irony of using project methods to advance in life in the Spirit. yet ignoring the fruit might also be unwise. We should be able to do better, but measuring over months and years makes more sense. We should at times take a look.

From the Bible passages above I think we can say that we need some discipline. On the other hand, we need to live before God as small children and not be robots. You can also see what I wrote about bringing faith to life.