1023) When I was young, my mother would sometimes put a list on the refrigerator of all that we needed to do before we could go out and play. These weren’t laborious but, as kids, we thought they were. When we were “done” in our eyes, my mother would look over the jobs and declare us our freedom to play–or not.

Are there any such things as spiritual lists of things we need to do? Yes. You can find these throughout the Bible. They are there to direct us to what is pleasing to God and will cause a better life here on the earth. These lists are not there to give us the opportunity to earn our salvation. Jesus took care of that.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that everything we do that is right, even if it seems like a tiny thing is used by God somehow in our lives or in the lives of those around me. When we “sign” the eternal contract with God, written with Jesus’ blood, we now should strive to do our best because this is a gift of gratitude that we can give to him.

No job is too small or demeaning if it pleases God. Our contract says so.