Checkpoint: Where Are You Along the Journey?

Lately I've been attempting to dive deeper into Scripture. Not that I haven't done so before, but I've been wanting to get a little more out of my reading. I remember as a teenager walking in on my dad sitting for hours reading his Bible. I remember meeting older Believers who get so much joy out of their quiet times with the Lord and just seem to have an answer for everything that life hands them. These experiences left quite an impression on me. And also left me feeling a little overwhelmed at how far I had to go to be like them. You can just tell when someone is taking their walk seriously. And, even as a self-absorbed teenager, I could tell.

And so that's my goal- to have that joy in spending time with the Lord and that "easy" knowledge that only time- and effort- can give. 

In the past, I highlighted passages or underlined them in a rainbow of colors that each meant something different.. I had so many different colors going that I couldn't keep them all straight so I needed a key to reference them. It was overwhelmingly complicated and did not help me in my Spiritual growth. It just discouraged me.

A few months ago I started working my way through some of the Pauline Scriptures again. I knew I needed an easier system. I decided to keep it simple: solid underlines for words and concepts that felt important, circles for key words that were essential or indicated transition (therefore, so that, etc.), boxes around passages that seemed like they went off on a tangent/were background information, squiggly underlines for negative ideas (the "do not's" of Scripture/descriptions of sinful people), and stars for passages that have to do with salvation concepts.

So this is what my Bible looks like now:

I know, still a mess. But that's besides the point. The point is: using this system, I am seeing deeper into the Scripture than I have before. Especially in the book of Ephesians.

I'll try to keep this next part brief.

While reading Ephesians, I came across something interesting: a road map to what I've been seeking to obtain (maturity like the "senior saints" of my past). And that map includes checkpoints. I believe that these checkpoints act like guideposts, encouraging us along the road to maturity. They consist of key ideas sprinkled throughout the book. And since I am running out of time today, I'll list them here along with their key verses so that you can read them for yourself.

Redemption, forgiveness, grace: Ephesians 1:7

Peace, reconciliation: Ephesians 2:14-22

Inheritance (realization/acceptance of): Ephesians 3:6

Power, love: Ephesians 3:16-20

Unity: Ephesians 4:2-6

Service, maturity: Ephesians 4:11-16

Transformation, imitation of God: 4:21-24, 5:1-2

Stand firm, resist (prepare for battle): Ephesians 6:10-17

Perseverance, intercession: Ephesians 6:18

I know that each person's walk looks a little bit different. But it does seem like these key ideas (these "checkpoints") tend to happen generally in a specific order in most people's lives. Which makes them an excellent way to tell where we are at in our journey. And to tell if we are sliding back into old habits, causing us to regress in our maturity.

I hope this road map is as helpful to you as it is to me. See you somewhere along the journey!