Jesus wasn’t a divine people pleaser with a Galilean grin. Here’s proof.

[Jesus] called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles. (Luke 6:13)

We often present a vision of Jesus as a divine people pleaser with a Galilean grin and zero boundaries. But that’s not exactly what we see in Scripture. Throughout the Gospels, we consistently see Jesus saying no to good things so that he could say yes to the most essential things on his redemptive quest (see Mark 9:30-31, John 6:26-27, Mark 1:35-38, etc.).

Take Luke 6:12-16 as one example. We know there was a large group of “disciples” following Jesus up to this point. But in the passage above, Jesus said no to the dozens so he could say yes to the dozen and invest maximum time and energy into them.

His example brings us to the fourth principle of this series.

Principle #4: Lighten Your Load — To redeem our goals in the model of our Redeemer, we will lighten our loads by saying no to the good to make room for the best.

Here’s a quick and truly life-changing practice I’ve adopted to live out that principle…

Practice #4: Create a Someday Maybe / New Earth Folder

Contrary to the caricature of heaven as a retirement home in the clouds where we play harps for billions of years, Scripture is clear: When God brings heaven to earth, heaven will not be an endless worship service but endless worship through service (see Revelation 22:1-5). It is marked by work with God that is strenuous but sinless, rigorous but rewarding, and all blissful worship to Christ our King (see Isaiah 65:17-23).

This truth can massively help you lighten your load. Here’s why. If this life is my only chance to chase every dream God has placed in my heart—to write that novel, start that business, run that marathon, whatever—then every time I consider dropping something from my to-do list, I’m subconsciously deciding whether to kill that dream forever.

But if I will have all of eternity to pursue godly goals, then I can be at peace with the fact that I will die with unfinished symphonies. 

Because if the things on my to-do list are on God’s to-do list, one of three things will happen to those projects when I die: God will tap somebody else to complete that work, God will finish the work without any human involvement, or God will invite me to complete that work when I arise from the nap that is death. Either way, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Years ago, this truth inspired me to create a folder in my to-do list app called “Someday Maybe / New Earth.” That five-second practice pays dividends daily, reminding me to set aside what can wait for eternity so I can focus on the essential few things God has called me to in this life.

If you, like me, have more ideas than time, let me encourage you to do the same. Take five seconds right now to create a “Someday Maybe / New Earth” folder in your to-do list software. And later this week, drag a few projects in there to lighten your load per the example of your Savior.