Everyone needs to stop and evaluate their life every now and then.  Have you set goals? Do you have dreams? Did you make any resolutions back on New Year’s Eve? One of the ways we work toward our goals/dreams/resolutions is to keep track of where we are in relation to where we want to be. Even Jesus did that with His earthly ministry.  Look at this:

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

–Matthew 13:13-18, NIV, ‘84

• Jesus was evaluating His ministry.
• Jesus was concerned about whether or not His message was getting out.

What about us? How effectively is our message getting out. How many people do you see on a daily or weekly basis that know about your church? Have you told them? Have you shared Christ with them? How do you expect them to know if you don’t tell them?

What about your youth group, Bible study class or church? How well is it doing?

We tend to coast too much.  We just take life as it hits us.  One of the things I used to hate in athletics was when they did benchmark tests.  We had to see how high we could jump, how fast we could run, how much we could lift, etc.  It was torture for me to do all of that.  But it was important so that later, we could see if I was improving in the areas the coach wanted me to improve in.  Evaluating one self is rarely fun–whether it be in athletics or spiritual in nature.  And as important as it is evaluate ourselves to see how we line up with what we think we should be doing, it is even more important to get God’s opinion! Look at what King David wrote:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

–Psalm 139:23-24, NIV, ‘84

• David was not content to evaluate himself.
• David asked God to evaluate him.

The Bible tells us that God knows everything there is to know about us.  He knows what we are thinking.  He knows what we are doing in our most secretive, private moments.  Knowing this, David was bold enough to ask God to evaluate him. If you were to ask God to evaluate yourself, what do you think He would say? Do you pray enough? Do you witness enough? Are you submissive to God? Are you committed enough?  Are there things in your life that you need to cut out or drastically adjust?

If you had to change one thing about your spiritual life to get closer to where God wants you to be, what would it be?

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If your church was dependent on people who were only as dedicated and committed as you are, what kind of ministry would it be?

If your church was as committed to worshipping Christ in their daily lives as you are, how closely would they be following God?

 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

–2 Corinthians 10:12, NIV, ‘84

Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.  Become the leader God wants you to be today!