What really matters…

It has struck me the last few weeks that we, as humans, worry and fret over so many things. What will we do for a living? Where will we live? How will we make ends meet? What will I wear? What will I eat? Who will I date? Who will I marry? How will I raise children? The list goes on and on and on. We worry we will make the wrong choice, which can paralzying us. What if God doesn’t want me here? What if I screw up “the plan”?

But the conclusion I have come to in the last few months is that God really and truly only cares about 1 thing. Maybe 2 if I follow this logic through.

  1. God cares that you LOVE Him and KNOW Him. 
  2. God cares about you showing other people His love. 

Jesus makes this point in Matthew 22 when He is asked what the greatest commandment is.

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

That’s it. It’s that simple. Simple, but not easy to understand or live out.

I have often heard is said that there are only 3 things that are eternal. God. God’s Word. And finally, God’s people. Those are the things that go with us. Everything else will be left behind. It won’t matter what car you drove, what job you had, or what people help you in high esteem. The only thing that will matter in the end, is your soul and the soul’s of all those around you.

We, as humans, have such a nasty tendency to make un-ultimate things ultimate. We spend all our time worrying about our day-to-day decisions. Which leaves little or no time for what actually matters. We spin our wheels working and trying so hard to succeed in this life, that we forget that what really matters is what comes after this life.

Now I say this not to belittle our lives. They have huge purpose and great importance, and I believe the “stuff” in our lives matters to God. In fact, scripture often tells us to do everything with excellence, as though working for God Himself. (Colossian 3:23-24) So obviously what we do with our lives matters. I say this instead to free us! God ultimately cares that we spend our lives loving and knowing Him. The rest is just gravy. The blessings, the decisions- all of that matters, but it is not ultimate. Our problem, is that we often get these things mixed up. Our day-to-day plans and decisions become ultimate, and loving and knowing God is added in the “free time” or spar moments of our lives. We forget that everything “hangs on” the two greatest commandments, as Jesus said in Matthew 22.

To quote a movie some of you may know: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” If we get busy living for the right things, for ultimate and eternal things, the rest will find its place in the end. We can choose to live for the things that are perishing, but they won’t come with us in the end.  When we chose to live for eternal things we no longer have to worry about the small details or even the big decisions of life, because God will be actively directing our steps. When we live first to know and love Him, He is faithful to give us direction in our day-to-day lives. And when we live our lives this way it also helps fulfill the second thing God is concerned about. It points people to the God we serve!  What amazing purpose God can give our lives!

So today, I will focus on remembering what is eternal. I will ask God to help me make ultimate things ultimate, and stop spending all my time worrying about the rest. He can take care of that. God cares about my soul. He cares that I love Him and spend time getting to know Him better. He cares that I love people around me well, pointing them to a Savior they desperately need. And in His strength, we can do all this. And when we do this, we are freed from worry and fear, to live a life driven by God’s purposes. That’s exactly where I want to be! He gives me just enough grace for today…

4 thoughts on “What really matters…

  1. Yes! Thank you, for such great truth. It is so important to keep our eyes and lives focused on what is important to Him. It is also so very easy to get distracted by all the noise in our lives.

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