I recently read a posting on a Christian Writer’s forum that shed a brand new light on the popular “bucket list” idea. For those of you who do not know what a “bucket list” is, it is simply a list of ideas, dreams and goals that individuals desire to achieve before they die.
I have always found the basic premise behind the bucket list to be intriguing and could be a fun way to experience life. However, yesterday this idea was challenged with me in a seemingly simple post. The new idea would be to replace the bucket list with a blessings list.
When I first read the idea, I was instantly taken aback in my own spirit and realized there is a vast difference between the two ideas. In the first place, a bucket list looks inward while the blessings list looks outward. Secondly, the bucket list truly is short sighted and may touch the lives of only a few outside your immediate acquaintances while the blessing list touches the lives of many more people.
Now, understand that I don’t say this in a spirit of legalism, but I believe that if you compare the two ideas to scripture, the bucket list should be absolutely thrown out. All Christians should replace their own bucket list with a blessings list. Work together with those you love to find new ways to be a blessing to others.
Look at it this way: Did Jesus come to fulfill a bucket list or a blessings list. There is simply no doubt that He came to fulfill the latter. The words Jesus spoke and the letters written by his disciples and apostles spoke towards the idea of a blessings list. I know from past experience that while fulfilling our own dreams can be entertaining, but being a blessing to others and a conduit for the love of Christ results in a fulfillment that goes beyond words.
I believe if you will prayerfully consider kicking your bucket list and replace it with a blessings list, you will find ample evidence that this is what God is calling His children to do.
