Do You Know Your Current Location?

Today, I am pondering the thought of self-evaluation. In most areas of our lives, we realize there is a need for self-evaluation, right? Whether you are at the back of the local pharmacy checking your blood pressure, or doing a personality test at work, there is a certain value in knowing where you are. None of us particularly like it though. What if I'm not as good as I thought. If I don't evaluate it, then I can assume the best.

This type of attitude is dangerous. I think we all know it. It's like turning off all the dashboard lights on your car, just to keep the "check engine" light from coming on. Just because there is no light, doesn't mean there are no issues. I love my iPhone. One of my favorite features is in the Map App. Once you open the app, you can search for anything you want. The feature I like is in the bottom left corner. It's a touch-spot that allows you to establish your "current location." Now I can map a route or get a list of directions to the location where I want to go.

How do we determine our "current location" spiritually? How do we determine our destination? If our goal is to be like Christ, what does that look like on a daily journey? Most people just go along hoping that they get there some day. They fall victim to the ancient proverb: "He who aims at nothing, hits it everytime." At our church, we are introducing our people to a spiritual self-evaluation, if you will. It's a personal survey designed to help you see where you are in relation to 30 core areas of the Christian faith. Our desire is to provide our people with a baseline for growth. I am discovering that there is a certain level of discomfort in this process, though. Thoughts race through minds like, "What if I'm not as Christian as people think I am?" "Who else is going to see this?" "Will people think less of me if I score low in some areas?"

When we stop and see where we are on the journey, we will never be where we want to be. If I am at my destination, then I don't need a map, I don't need to know my current location and I sure don't need a list of directions. When it comes to our growth as a Christ-follower, we are not at our destination. If you think you are, then there might be bigger fish to fry than an evaluation.

I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Thanks for checking in on 4three4.

What Kind of Person Are You Becoming?

Each of us are being transformed daily into the person we will be tomorrow from the person we are today. Day to day, this doesn't seem like a large change, but the small incremental changes over time can amount to much. When I went to college, I weighed about 155 pounds. I was a lean, fit baseball player. Today, I sit about 225 and like my bacon lean and fit is a word that makes me twitch. I didn't wake up one day and say, "I want to add 70 lbs. to my frame." It took time. It took small incremental changes in my diet and small incremental changes in my activities. Then...BAM!!!! It happened.

I realize that everyone adds weight as they shed their adolescent figures and move into adulthood. Not everyone adds what I have added and some people have added more. There are some people who actually stayed fit, or have even gotten better as the years have passed. These people were intentional. They had a plan. They had a vision of a preferred future for themselves. They saw where they were and where they were headed and made a change. They, too, made small incremental changes that lead to a better version of themselves.

Spiritually speaking, I am investing in a preferred future for me and my family. I have a preferred future for my kids that looks very different from where they are now. I want to make small changes today to hopefully dramatically change their life in 5 years or 10 years. At our church, we have identified 30 core competencies that we want to use as a guide to these small changes. I have been investing those 30 things in my life and the lives of my kids for 8 years now, and I may not be where I want to be, but I'm a lot closer to that preferred future than I was 8 years ago. My goal is to spend the next 10 years investing them into my 8 year old, so when she leaves to go to college, she will be confident in the things she believes about God, comfortable in the ways she loves God back and consistent in the character God wants to create in her. If we can manage that, then she will be better prepared to meet the challenges of college, life, career, marriage, parenthood, etc..

Do you have a preferred future for yourself? Do you have a measure for that mission? Are you clear in your pursuit of that future? Do you know the distractions for your pursuit? It's important. The stakes are high...really high.