Wednesday Bible Blurb “Check the Box” 5 21 2025
Check the Box
Busy, busy and busier. We try so hard to get everything on our list of chores completed by the end of the day. We make our list and then check it off when completed. Being an organized, on time hard working human is not a bad thing; Believing we get into God’s Kingdom for our hard work and accomplishments is also a bad thing. Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways.” (Jere. 17:9-10[NKJV]). No matter how hard we work, we will never measure up to the perfection we seek without the loving grace of God. Let us look at our daily lives and see how we are doing in “checking the box” of our spiritual chores.
Consider this verse as we go about our daily “check the box” of chores routine. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” (Rom. 3:23-24). No matter how many spiritual boxes we check, we are dead unless God freely gives us His life saving grace.
-Mow the lawn. Check the box.
-Take out the garbage. Check the box.
-Feed the sheep. Check the box.
-Vacuum the living room. Yes, dear. Check the box.
-Gas up the car. Check the box.
-OR-
-Have no other God’s before me. Check the box.
-Don’t make and worship idols. Check the box.
-Don’t use God’s name in vain. Check the box.
-Keep the Sabbath. Check the box.
-Honor your parents. Check the box.
-Do not murder. Check the box
-Do not commit adultery. Check the box.
-Do not steal, Check the box.
-Do not lie. Check the box.
-Do not covet. Check the box.
-Write the Wednesday Bible blurb. Check the box.
No matter how many times we “check the box” we are still going to die unless God saves us through His grace.
The Pharisees daily “checked the box” of commandments and Jesus has some things to say about their physical efforts. Reading through Matthew 23 we see Jesus tells them how their box checking was working…or not working. Jesus says about the Pharisees seven times in this chapter “you hypocrites.” They kept the law and killed the prophets. They are serpents, brood of vipers and they kept the law. They daily “checked the box” of their own righteousness (vs 5) and ignored the weightier matters of the law justice, mercy and faith. They checked all the boxes in keeping the law of Moses and they were dead to their sins.
The Pharisees had faith in their own law keeping rather than in God Himself. “Therefore, it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.” (Rom. 4:16). Is the law sin? NO, we keep the law with our hearts and actions because God has given us His Holy Spirit. (Rom. 7:7). Our salvation only comes from grace. Not one action we do can save us from the eventual human death to come. Only God and His grace will save us. Paul says, “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:5-10). We are only saved by grace, no matter how many boxes we check off we are dead, unless God grants us His loving grace.
Mary and Martha were sisters who followed Jesus. One day Jesus came to visit, and Mary sat down to listen to Him. Martha, being worried and troubled by all the guests, worked hard to feed everyone and checked off her box of service for the day. Eventually Martha complained to Jesus about her sister Mary not helping to check the service box. Jesus simply told Martha, “…you are worried and troubles about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42).
-Martha served the guests, checked the box and was wrong.
-Mary listened to Jesus, checked the correct box and was correct.
We have one chance to check the correct box of salvation, and it only comes through Jesus, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). There is only one box to check. The box of grace God gives us, and we on our own cannot even check that box. God gave us His son (John 3:16) to check the box of salvation for us.
Check the box of grace in the name and spirit of our God, Jesus Christ.
