Most married men are aware of what has become known as the “honey-do list”. Those of us who have been blessed with long marriages are very familiar with it. It must have been the first form of the to-do list. I can visualize Eve listing for Adam the things that needed to be done around the Garden. No matter how many items I checked off of that list in my fifty year marriage to Carol, the list was never completed. New items seemed to appear as fast as (or faster than) I could accomplish them, but my love for her made me want to give it my best effort.
I have found that one of the many differences between men and women is that women are more aware of what needs to be done and to their credit most of them quietly do those things they can do, while compiling that list of things they need their man to do for them. Men, on the other hand, are usually more concerned about the things we want to do rather than the things that need to be done.
Sometimes I think our prayers become a honey-do list for God. A list of the things we feel that we can’t take care of on our own. He is already well aware of our needs and he will lovingly check them off one by one, but He has a list for us as well. There are things that need to be done in our realm of influence that He has assigned for us to do.
The Ten Commandments and the law God gave his people appear to be more of a honey-don’t list. Jesus turned that all around when He put two things at the top of His list for us; “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) We can avoid all of the no-no’s if we love God and others, but these are not single actions we can check off our honey-do list from God. They are things we must continue to do every day of our life.
Sadly, we could never love God so completely or love all of our neighbors as we love our self on our own. The good news is that God has provided us with His Holy Spirit to give us both the desire and the strength to do those two things and much more. The Holy Spirit also prompts us to do the more specific things God has on His honey-do list for us. I have said and written many times that when the Holy Spirit prompts me to do something I only have two choices; do it or regret it. I can tell you from experience that doing it is best.
Just as love inspired me to do the things on Carol’s honey-do list, love is what drives me to accomplish the items on God’s list of things He wants me to do. (See John 14:15)