ABC's of Life

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In American Profile the other day, there was an article about the ABCs of back to school. The list covered a wide variety of subjects that parents need to be considering as they send their children back to school for another year. There were some great ideas like talking to your child about their Attitude toward school and Grades, doing a Closet overhaul, and how to develop Friendships.

The list got me thinking. What about the rest of our lives? Society focuses so much on back-to-school sales, back-to-school activities, and back-to-school relief for Mom and Dad—but what ABCs are good for walking a life of following Jesus Christ? The following is the list I came up with. I hope it inspires you to make a list of your own that you can post to rejuvenate you on your daily walk with the Lord.

A: Always. Be aware of God’s presence always.

B: Believe. Believe there is nowhere in this world where you have to walk alone.

C: Christ. May Christ always be in your heart and on your mind.

D: Devotion. Devote your life to Jesus Christ. We can dedicate our lives to a lot of things in this world but everything changes when we focus on him.

E: Example. What can you do today to be a good example of God’s love in the world?

F: Fellowship. We are not meant to travel this life alone but rather called to be there for one another. Be in fellowship so that if one falls, the other is there to help.

G: Grace. The greatest gift we get from God is grace. The greatest gift we can give to one another is to extend grace to them even though—and especially when—they don’t deserve it.

H: Heaven. It is our destination, but we should not to be so heavenly minded that we are no good to anyone here. We are to store up our treasures in heaven by how we live our lives now.

I: I Am. We do not find the word “I” in scripture unless it is referring to God and what he intends. It is because we can do nothing without him—and unlike what the world thinks, living this life is not all about me; it’s about the Great I Am.

J: Jesus. No need to say more.

K: Kindness. If there is one thing that is needed in this world today, it is more kindness. We can talk about love and forgiveness, but our journey of being viewed as living differently than the world begins with simple kindness.

L: Lord. Who or what is the lord of your life? It is easy to let other things get in the way of your relationship with God. Work hard at keeping him Lord.

M: Music. It is one of the great gifts from God. The tunes and attitudes of today’s praise songs along with the rich texts of the old hymns can bring our walk to a greater depth.

N: Neighbor. Mother Teresa once said, “Jesus tells us to love our neighbors; do you even know your neighbor?” There are people right around the corner, next door, or even in your family who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Tell them.

O: Omnipresent. God is always present in our lives. We simply need to recognize his presence and listen for his guidance.

P: Prayer. The greatest communication device ever because of who is always on the other end—but never forget that it is a two-way street. God wants to listen but he also wants to talk to you.

Q: Quiet. One of the greatest challenges in the world today is finding quiet time—but we must. Find time today to set aside the world and listen for the quiet voice of the One who loves you most.

R: Rejoice. Rejoice every day in the love of God. No matter what the world may say, you are loved.

S: Serve. Serve the Lord with gladness. We are not called to be baptized and then quit. We are called to serve the world in the name of Jesus and we are called to do it with joy.

T: Thanksgiving. Give thanks to the Lord because he is good (Psalm 107:1).

U: Understanding. Like kindness, we sometimes show God’s love most when we try to be understanding.

V: Voice. God has placed you at this point in history to be his voice. Don’t hold back. There are those who can only be reached by you.

W: Wonder. Take time today to look at this amazing creation in which we live. There is so much to take in that sometimes we just have to shout out loud in wonder.

X: eXamine your life. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. I don’t think if “not worth living” is right, but it is important that we take time to examine our lives to see if we are being a good example of what the Christian walk should be.

Y: Yoke. Jesus said “My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30, CEB). We carry so many burdens needlessly when we have Someone who wants to help us with our journey.

Z: Zest, zeal, zip, zoom. How many words can you think of that begin with “Z”? Many are action words and they all deal with God. We are to our lives with zest and zeal, zipping and zooming with energy for living the life of a Christ follower.