Evaluation

Evaluation helps in all areas of life.  A banker evaluates how the market is affecting his business.  A homemaker evaluates products for costliness, and effectiveness.  A Doctor evaluates how certain medications help their patients with pain, ect...  Evaluation helps us as believers also.  We need to evaluate how we are doing in all aspects of our Christian life.  Are we spending enough time in the Word, prayer, and study?  How about our fellowship time with others?  How "real" are you with others in your accountability circle?  How much do you just play the Christian game?  

Many Christians from the past had ways of evaluating their lives.  Jonathan Edwards had a list of things he would go over, Wesley had a different one, even George Washington had his list of Etiquette.  I think it is a very valuable tool that we as believers can measure whether we are keeping our eyes focused on the goal set before us.  Just so long as we set the goals correctly.  

In the early years of my Christian walk, I centered on a longgggggggg list of do's and don'ts, things to do, things to avoid, lists of endless tasks to get accomplished.  Now, my lists look a lot different.  Yes, they still include "things" I have to get done for the day, because I have a family to attend to.  But.....they have a different tone than they used to.  The tasks have turned more to relationships, the do's have turned more to evaluations of my being instead.  I found when I only focused on the tasks, that is all I accomplished.  Am I doing the household chores, etc... even those things for the glory of God?  Remember, He is very capable of getting all the glory, even if I don't get all the laundry done for today.  I am not sure that when we get to the end of life we will be so very proud of those kinds of things, as we will be by evaluating daily our relationships.  How am I doing with my Saviour?  Am I loving more and more His Word?  How about dependence?  Am I trusting in Him to be who He said He would be in what ever circumstance I am in?  What about the relationship with my husband?  How am I doing today with Ken?  Marriage takes work, and if we think at anytime in the journey of it all that we have "arrived" then we have stopped working at it, and are actually taking backward steps.  What about my kids?  Am I spending time in prayer, real prayer, not just a list of things to get it checked off?  A great deal of this has to do with our attitude towards it.  Am I living today in such a way that I am dying more to self and living more for Jesus?  This always involves humility, and repentance.  Is He my friend, or is He a genie in a bottle that is obligated to give me what I want, need, desire, or can't live without?  

Evaluations daily can be a good thing.  Make sure you are evaluating the right things.  

Evaluating, analyzing, and being introspective till He comes.........................Lynn