Where am I?

headed, and filled in the gaps just by going. Occasionally, however, I would have trouble because I’d lose track of which way was North.  I found out that to get where you’re going, it helps to know where you are.  What helps me is 1 Timothy 4:12 which says: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faithand in purity.”  Something I’ve been doing for a long time is, every now and then, taking a few second to ask myself some questions from this verse to help me get a better idea of where I am in my person growth.  To give you a glimpse of what I do, I’ll give you a brief description of each with a few questions.

Speech - This isn’t just ‘is my speech clean?’  It’s also whether or not it honors God.  I ask myself questions like:

• Do I gossip?
• Do I speak negatively or hurtfully of others?
• Do I speak negatively of myself?
• Do I talk too much about myself and not enough about Jesus and others?

Life - This is about our general conduct, personal habits, etc.  For this part a take a few minutes to see if I have any bad habits or tendencies.

• Can I call myself a person of integrity?
• Can I say that I’m punctual – that being on-time is important to me?
• Are my actions throughout my everyday Christ-like?

Love - Jesus’ defining quality was love.  God sent his Son to the earth because he loved (John 3:16).   We also know that God is love (1 John 4:16).  If this is true, which it is, then we should strive to be people who are known for their love.

• Do I make it a conscious effort to show others that I love them?
• Do I take time to show compassion to those who are in need?
• Does it bother me that there are people going to Hell?

Faith - This one is vertical; me and God.

• Am I consistent in my devotions?
• What does my prayer life look like?
• Do I make it a priority to be a witness?
• Am I willing to take risks or deviate from my schedule to follow God’s will and leading?

Purity - For this one, I think of a glass of water.  If you walked into a restaurant and ordered a glass of water, but instead you received a glass of sand, of course you wouldn’t drink it.  But what about if it was filled with water and only a little dirt?  It would still be no good.  We should also have our lives pure before God.

•  Have I compromised my standards in any way?
• Have I diluted my focus on Jesus, or split my devotion to God?
• Is there anything getting in the way of my relationship with God/is that relationship my #1 priority?

Again, this is just something that helps me from time-to-time in evaluating the status of my growth, or lack thereof.  I think it’s important to keep growing and keep upping the bar.  As I’ve grown over the last few years, I’ve changed some of the questions.  But maybe you’re farther along than I, or maybe you’re not yet where I am.  Whatever the case, I want to encourage you to maybe put some of your own questions in and then do some thinking (or you can borrow my questions – that’s why I put them there).  Then just take a few minutes, sit down, and work some stuff out with God.  Find out where  you are.  If you ask him with the right motives, he’ll give you an answer, and you’ll be all the better for it.

Zachary

Advertisement