Wednesday, June 3, 2026

“It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.” (Galatians 6:15, New Living Translation)

            I am a sucker for lists, especially top ten lists. My browser gives me all sorts of lists each and every day. Just today, for example, I can read “The worst movies of all time, or  “19 habits that are silently sabotaging your health” or “11 phrases people are using when they are not telling the truth” or “men who truly respect women never do these 10 things” or “11 things that are making you older before your time.” Fascinating, right? Don’t tell you’re not a little intrigued. I have no idea how they came up with these lists or whom they polled or if they polled anyone at all. They could be AI generated for all I know but if one takes them with a grain of salt, they are kind of amusing and usually make a little sense.

            My favourite biblical list contains The Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 3 – 12) Count your blessings, indeed! But there all sorts of other kinds of lists, like the Ten Commandments, for instance. The Apostle Paul gives us lists of spiritual gifts, talents and abilities. “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” (Romans 12: 6 -8)

            His list about the best gift of all, Love, is a classic. “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:  4-7)

            Another one of his lists concerns the qualities of a Christian’s life. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22) Or Paul advises us to “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8)

            As I get older, I need to make lists for myself so that I will remember the things I need to shop for. If I don’t, I will just about always forget an item, usually the one I went out to get in the first place.  These lists I have lifted from our scriptures are very useful reminders about the pursuit of a healthy, full-bodied Christian lifestyle.  It doesn’t mean we carry around a checklist and gives ourselves a credit every time we meet an objective.  But these are helpful reminders of attitudes, actions and words that befit a follower of Jesus Christ.  These sorts of lists define our daily routines, our interactions with others, our relationship with God and our faith walk. They give us direction and purpose. They lead us into the correct paths of righteousness. And if we forget, once in a while, they are right there in our Bibles, ready to remind us and refresh our memories and set us on the right path once more. It can’t get any more useful, practical, convenient or available than that.

            And as Paul wrote in our text, what really counts is that we are transformed into a new life.

 

Prayer:

Our Loving God. We are blessed that you don’t count our sins against us, but through Jesus Christ we are counted as redeemed and sanctified. There are no limits to your Love and Grace, your Mercy and Forgiveness. May our response to such a  Love be a bountiful and plentiful life of good works, good words, good relationships with others. May we not count the cost of a Christian life well lived, but invest ourselves fully in our walk withy Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.