Our lives get cluttered, don’t they? If you have children, you may have to figure out all the sports schedules and get those kids to practice and be there for the games. That alone can be challenging. In ministry and business, we have our priorities for moving forward with the mechanics of the organization. Those To-Do lists can become long, and it’s not always easy to prioritize everything that makes it to the list. And that doesn’t include interruptions and “important” things that always seem to pop up.

I don’t know if the Apostle Paul had a To-Do list. If so, I’m sure it was a long scroll with lots of items. Reading Acts 20 gives us a sense of how busy he was, visiting believers in various cities and encouraging his friends. He didn’t have the luxury of modern-day travel, which no doubt added to the challenge of getting things done.

That’s why it stands out in verse 24 when he declared that of all the things he had before him. There was only one item on his list that was of ultimate importance.

… my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

Acts 20:24 NLT

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of that passage shows that Paul felt a personal calling, not just to ministries or churches, but to tell everyone that passed his way about the love and grace of his Lord Jesus.

What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.

Acts 20:24 MSG

Just a few chapters earlier, we read the account of Paul in Athens. He was invited to speak to the intellectuals of Athens and did not miss the opportunity to check off an item on his To-Do list. Again, The Message puts the speech in today’s terms.

When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, TO THE GOD NOBODY KNOWS. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.

Acts 17:23 MSG

I have a feeling Paul didn’t get around to all the things on his list. Yet again and again, he focused on the top thing for him…sharing God’s truth His hope for everyone, Jesus.

 

All those things on your To-Do list today are not unimportant. But if the Lord called you home today, would you have done that number one, most important thing?

 

I’m thinking through my “list” of things to do.

God’s best,