I've always been obsessed with lists. Is there anything more satisfying than crossing off something from your to-do list? Especially when that list is a bucket list. It's one thing to cross "vacuum the living room" off your list. It's quite another thing to cross off some grand adventure you've been daydreaming about for years. Since I can remember, I've been crafting my bucket list. And the more I learned in school, the more books I poured over, the more my bucket list grew. For me, life has always been a series of grand adventures, and we spend our days waiting for the next one to come around. And what adventures I've had! From eating ostrich to riding an elephant through a jungle to finally seeing my first shooting star, my adventures have been amazing. Each time I get to open up my bucket list Word document to cross off another item on my list, I can't help but read all the ones I haven't crossed off yet--all the adventures I've yet to embark on. One day, I'll know what the Seine really looks like. One day, I'll stand at Wilberforce's tomb. One day, I'll taste poi. So much of my life has been spent dreaming about future adventures. But now, they mean nothing to me. What used to be an inspiring list of goals and dreams, a guide for my life, is just as unimportant as last week's discarded grocery list. Why? Because of Jesus. Because this weekend, while living out number #44 on my bucket list (live in a foreign country), I got to go on a walk with my best friend. As we passed all the old men smoking their cigarettes, spitting out their beetlenut, and arguing over their Majiang game, I was talking with Brian about what it would be like to be old. "I've never really been able to picture myself as old," I said. "Maybe that means I'll die young! And, if I die young enough, I'll die in China! Then I'll have been in China 'forever,' like you want me to be!" He laughed and asked, "Ok, how about tomorrow? Want to die then? Or today?" "Well, I don't want to die that soon! I've got too many things to do before I die!" I said. "Like what?" Brian asked. I expected that well-read list to come floating through my mind. I'm so familiar with it, I probably could have recited it to Brian. But, you know, that list didn't come to mind. None of it did. As I turned to look at him, I realized there was only one thing on that list. Just one. "To see my friends saved," I answered. That's it. Nothing else matters. All that time planning my trip to Europe. Vanity. All the time studying to get my Master's degree. Vanity. All that practice time on the ukulele. Vanity. Because He is all that matters. Our only purpose in this life is to make the decision to choose or reject Christ. And once we've made the choice to accept Him, the only reason we're still on this Earth is to tell others about our Savior. I'm all for bucket lists, but I think I'm going to exchange all those experiences with names. See the Great Wall? No. See Tony saved. See a Thai lantern festival? No. See Helena saved. See the Colosseum? No. See Shepard saved. Because in the end, the greatest stories to tell in Heaven will not be the time I petted that tiger or got lost in Bangkok. It will be the quiet moment when my friend bowed his head, and God saved his soul from Hell. Here's to crossing off all the names on my bucket list!
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