Have you heard that change is inevitable? This is a widely accepted proverb. If you recognize that this is true do you accept change or resist it? Does it seem futile to resist something that is inevitable? Do you cling to things that no longer work or try to hold together things that are falling apart? Even things that are useful and I have blessed may have a limited lifespan and there is wisdom in knowing when to let them go. Do you see my work in your life as static, or as a progression? Can you look back and see the arc of progress that your life has taken until now?

Have you heard that the best things in life are free? Have you said this yourself? Do you live your life as if this were true, or do you put most of your effort into acquiring things that are not free? Is it fair to say that your true values are revealed by the way you spend your time? What simple pleasures do you enjoy? You get a sunrise and a sunset every day no matter where you live. Do you find that your connection to nature and to people has more meaning to you than the stuff that you accumulate? What else do you have that is free and yet priceless at the same time?

I tell you to love your enemies. Do you? Is this concept so far removed from your familiar life experience that you see this as an abstraction? How can you make it concrete? Do you view everyone as made in my image? If so then there is an essential human dignity that you can grant to everyone, no matter how different they are from you in the usual dimensions you use to make distinctions such as race, national origin, education, income level, political affiliation, and even belief systems. Is your awareness of my image in your enemies strong enough to overcome these things?

You understand my redemptive purposes. What about yours? Does this seem like an odd question? You understand that my redemptive acts were unique to me. It is not necessary or possible for you to duplicate them. But you are called to follow me. If my purpose was redemption, then shouldn’t you look for ways to express redemptive purpose also? You have been given the Great Commission so you identify evangelical work in this way, and rightly so. Is it limited to that? Can you think of any other ways in which you can manifest redemptive purpose? If you ask me I will show you how.