What’s on your bucket list? What are the things you’ve always dreamed about doing?
For the most part our bucket list items can be boiled down to visiting some place, experiencing a thrill, or owning something.
Nothing is necessarily wrong with a list like that. I believe God wants you to enjoy this planet. And I believe He wants you to enjoy the fruits of your labor. But (you knew there was a but) He doesn’t want us to ONLY work towards pleasure and materialistic things.
There is more to you than just a body. God also made you a spiritual being. He gave you a soul and it was never meant to be fed with things or experiences. Your soul’s capacity is so much larger. In fact, it’s God sized and only spiritual things can nourish it.
It’s easy to forget this because every day we are told that the measure of a person is in what they own, what they’ve done, and where they’ve been. Jesus said something different. He said that your life isn’t measured by what you own (Luke 12:15). Jesus told us that it was possible to have the whole world and lose your soul in the process (Matthew 16:26).
What would it look like for you to have a spiritual bucket list? A list that would nourish your soul. A list of the things you want to do before you meet Jesus and give an account of what you did with what He gave you (2 Cor. 5:10).
I’ve created a list that I think will help get you started thinking about your own spiritual bucket list…
1. Believe Jesus was who He said He was.
This is the most important thing you’ll ever do for your soul. It’s the beginning of life. Have you ever made a decision about who Jesus said He was? He claimed He was the way, the truth, and the life. What do you think about that?
2. Be baptized after conversion.
I’m not talking about being baptized as a baby. I’m talking about following Jesus’ example and command to be baptized after you made the decision to follow Jesus. You don’t want to see Jesus and not have done such a simple thing.
3. Be active in a small group.
Do you have a smaller group of people who help encourage you and keep you accountable? I’m not asking did you, but do you.
4. Serve regularly in a ministry.
Jesus said he didn’t come to be served, but to serve. Be a giver and not a taker.
5. Memorize a chapter of the Bible.
Have you ever memorized a verse? It’s God’s word preserved for us. The first chapter I ever memorized was Psalms 100. (It has 5 verses in it.) What if you made it a goal to memorized a book of the Bible? (Jude only has 25 verses.)
6. Read through the Bible.
The Bible is preserved for us so we can know the mind and heart of God. You could do this by setting aside a few minutes every day.
7. Invite a hundred people to church.
What if you could look around your church and point to lots of people who are there because of you? You leveraged your influence for good.
8. See my kids baptized.
You passed your faith off to the next generation.
9. Be a vital part of a ministry.
This is different than just serving. This is about investing your life in a specific and meaningful way.
10. Share my conversion story with my family.
Does your family know the circumstances surrounding you becoming a follower of Jesus? My wife and I like to do this from time to time with our kids. On Good Friday we had our favorite meal and went around the table and shared how we each became a follower of Jesus. My napkin was used to wipe my eyes more than my mouth. I think there is something powerful for kids to hear how their parent’s life was changed by Jesus. Don’t make your kids wonder about your faith. Let them know.
11. Pray out loud with my family.
Have you ever prayed out loud for your spouse or your kids with them present? Too often we say, “I’m praying for you.” What if we just stopped and did just that? I’ve had several people tell me they would give anything to hear their mom or dad pray one more time. May your kids say the same thing about you.
12. Give a Bible to my loved ones.
What if you read through the Bible, marked up all of the verses that you loved or felt that God spoke to you through, and then gave that Bible to your child or grandchild? What would that do for their faith? The next year do it again for a different child.
13. Write a blessing for each child.
Here is the Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Imagine if you had a blessing given to you from your parents on a milestone birthday?
14. Forgive my father.
Your entire life would change if you did. Let it go.
15. Forgive ________________.
Give up your right to get even and move on. The past isn’t the past if it is still affecting your future.
16. Have God’s sex talk with my kids.
I’m not just talking about the mechanics. I’m talking about the emotional and spiritual parts. The parts that cause so much pain and hurt years later.
17. Lead someone to Jesus.
My hope for you is that when you get to Heaven more than just your family will be welcoming you home. My prayer is that hundreds of people not related to you will cheer your arrival and tell you that they wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for your courage to tell them about Jesus.
18. Take a spiritual gift test.
Here is a free one. Take the test and start using your gift.
19. Be mentored.
Give them permission to ask you anything and tell you anything.
20. Mentor a younger Christian.
Learn and return. Share what you’ve learned with others. Our faith has always passed from one person to another.
21. Break a family cycle.
What do you struggle with that your mom and your grandmother struggled with? Maybe it’s wine. Maybe it’s smoking. Maybe it’s your weight. Maybe it’s debt. Maybe it’s anger. If you don’t draw a line in the sand, your kids will struggle with it too. The important things in life are caught, not taught. It’s why you struggle with what your dad and grandfather struggled with. The family cycle can end with you. As Pete Scazzero says, “Jesus may be in your heart, but grandpa is in your bones.”
22. Save myself for marriage.
An incredible gift for your future spouse. No one ever got a divorce because they couldn’t figure out the mechanics. On the other hand, plenty of marriages didn’t make it because of baggage they brought into it.
23. Go on a mission’s trip.
See what God is doing in other parts of the world. The epicenter of Christianity is not in the United States. We are rich in commodities, while other parts of the world are rich in community—the very thing our soul most longs for. We have a lot to learn.
24. Go on a mission’s trip with my kids.
Help your children have a global perspective when it comes to their faith.
25. Pray for one hour.
Jesus’ own disciples struggled with this. On the night Jesus was betrayed they couldn’t pray with him for one hour without falling asleep (Matt. 26:40). Let’s do what the disciples couldn’t.
26. Participate in a food fast.
You’ll be surprised to see how much you think about food.
27. Live debt free.
Our money says, “In God We Trust.” Ironically, it’s the hardest thing for us to trust God with. You’ll sleep a lot better at night if you don’t change the motto to be “In Visa We Trust.”
28. Give at least 10%.
Do you know what actual percentage you give now? I’m talking about actual money, not time, and not unwanted clothes to the Salvation Army.
29. Serve the poor.
Nothing is as humbling and re-centering as helping people in need.
30. Take foster parenting classes.
We are responsible to care for widows and orphans. This might not be the avenue God wants for your family, but you’ll never know if you don’t explore it.
31. Get a passport.
One of the last things Jesus said was, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). It’s kind of hard to obey Jesus if we don’t have the very thing that allows us to go into all of the world.
32. Tell your neighbor about Jesus.
This assumes a lot of things have happened before you get to this point including actually being a good neighbor.
33. Be generous anonymously.
It forces us to examine our true motives when we give.
34. Be kind anonymously.
It forces us to examine our true motives about when we serve.
35. Visit my sponsored child.
Do you sponsor a child through Compassion or World Vision?
36. Give a one-time gift I think impossible to my church.
Most people ask, “What is the least I can give and still be good with God?”
37. Retire and work for free for a ministry.
You have done such a great job with your career and saving that you will be able to retire. Well done! With the advancement of technology and medicine you will likely have another 15-20 years with prime health. How are you going to use those last years before you meet Jesus? You have more wisdom and time than you’ve ever had and you could be a game changer for a ministry. Don’t let entitlement creep in at the end and keep you from finishing well.
38. Give a car away.
Your old car would be a huge blessing to someone else.
39. Host a block party for my neighbors.
Matthew threw a party for his friends (Luke 5:27-32).
40. Go to Israel.
Walk where Jesus walked. See that the Bible is not just stories, but real people and real places.
41. Get free of my addiction.
Have you admitted to yourself that it’s a problem? Who else are you going to tell? You are only as sick as your secrets.
42. Be faithful to my spouse.
The older you get the more you understand what love really is. May you keep those vows until death do you part.
43. Leave a spiritual legacy.
When we stand before God and give an account of our lives I think God is going to be looking for more than… “I went to the Grand Canyon, I went skydiving, and I drove this.” What would it take to hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”
What’s currently on your bucket list that nourishes your soul and reflects God’s priorities?
What would you add to the list to get it to 50?
