I'm going on vacation this week and plan on reading the book Getting Things Done, by David R. Allen. This productivity oriented book has generated an almost cult-like following of people who walk around with lists in their pockets and categorize every to-do into a "Next Action", "Project", "Someday", "Waiting For", "If I Don't Max Out My Credit Card First", or "If My Wife Lets Me". I've read this book before, and as I read it I find myself caught between two healthy tensions:

1) Wanting to be more productive for the sake of Christ. Colossians 4:5 calls us to, "Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of the time." I want to spend my energies for the glory of Christ, not wasting my life on fruitless pursuits. In light of this, I desire to be more productive and "Get Things Done" for the glory of God.

2) Realizing that only God accomplishes all that's on his to-do list. In scripture we see that only God gets everything done. God is the only perfectly productive being in the universe. He never grows tired, never has a brain meltdown, never needs a thirty-minute power nap. As I seek to get things done, I want to acknowledge my absolute dependence on God for grace. And ultimately, Jesus Christ is the only man who ever got everything done. He's the Savior, the perfect man, the One who obeyed God even to death. Oh how I need the Savior.

If you've ever thought about trying to be more productive, let these two tensions inspire you to call out to God. You need his grace to live a life that makes the most of every moment, and you need his grace to get things done. Above all, you need the Savior.