Essentials
Have you ever seen someone post a picture of their "essentials?" You know, like all of their favorite things organized together into one photo? I have, and I think it's really cool. It's amazing that a picture of a few of our things can almost capture who we are as a person.
I decided to make my own essentials list, and when I started writing things down, I noticed something: my list was getting really long. As kept thinking of new things to add, it was like I was defeating the purpose. Isn't a list of essentials supposed to be relatively small? The definition of essential is "absolutely necessary." (Is my favorite gum absolutely necessary?? It should be.) That got me thinking, "How many of these things are actual essentials?" I asked myself what I might grab if I was leaving my house for a week and could only bring a few of my belongings.
That helped me narrow it down to 9 items. I arranged them together in an organized fashion and snapped a picture. Seeing all my most used possessions in one place was cool. It was like looking at my life.
Here is my list of "essentials":
1) Backpack
2) Sunglasses
3) Rodney (the watch)
4) Ipad
5) Iphone
6) Sea salt almond dark chocolate
7) Coca Cola (the good kind)
8) Sketchbook (in case you were wondering, that's supposed to be Jennifer Lawrence)
9) Journal
That pretty much sums up who I am, right? Wrong.
I left out one thing on my list. This thing is the most important essential. In fact, it is the only essential that is truly absolutely necessary.
Don't get me wrong, the things I listed are very important. My watch tells me the time, (even though Rodney's a little slow) my sketchbook allows my to draw and create art, my sunglasses shield my oh so sensitive eyes from the sun.
However, the most important thing amongst all the things in my life is, hands down, my Bible.
But wait, isn't the Ipad the most important thing? The Ipad can be both Ipad and Bible!!
Well, not exactly. Sure, I could switch between playing Angry Birds and reading Colossians, but if I did that, I'd probably stumble upon Colossians 3:2 ("Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.") and feel a little contradictory.
I believe that the Bible is best served alone, with no distractions. When we add in other things to our time in the Bible, it's like trying to listen to what your mother is talking to you about while watch an episode of Parks and Rec. Ultimately, you'd have to pause one of the two to be able to fully understand anything. (I know this first hand.) If we want to grow in our faith in Christ, we need to take time away from our distractions and focus on the part of our life that is the most sacred: time spent in the Bible.
Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."
Hearing what others have to say about the Bible is very enlightening, and it's often how we learn a lot of what we know about God. But in the end, we have to make our own decision based on our own knowledge. That's why it's so important for us to spend designated time in God's Word. Because His Word is just that, it's His words - He's speaking to us through His Word!
If we're being honest, sometimes spending hours on Pinterest probably sounds like more fun than reading the Bible. But take a look at Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
If everything on this earth is going to eventually fade away, shouldn't I be spending my time and energy on things I know won't? I'd definitely rather have my heart reside in the Bible than on the internet.
I'm happy with my list of essentials. Those things are very important to me. Maybe you don't have a photo of yours, but I'm sure you have some sort of mental list of the things closest to you.
My question is this: if all you had to your name was a Bible, would that be enough for you? Your answer might be no. We are all only humans with sinful and rebellious natures, and sometimes the things that this world offers us seem like way more than anything God could offer us.
John 3:16 is one of the most repeated verses in the Bible. However, it as also one of the most important. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." The things of this world will perish, but if we put our trust in Christ Jesus, we will not! We also get to have a relationship unlike any earthly relationship - one with the God of the universe. Those two things hand in hand top anything the world has to offer.
So, I'd like to share with you my new and improved "essentials list." I can proudly say that everything in this photograph is absolutely necessary.
