What Matters Most

My cousin, Tammi, is dying. The truth is we all are dying, but she is in hospice care even as I write.  My husband and I have 5 children, ranging from 17 to 4 years of age. While one child is trying to decide where to go to college after graduation in 4 months; another child is in speech therapy to help overcome a speech delay.  There are piano lessons to take; homework to finish; and behavior issues to manage.  It can all seem so very important. You can relate. Who has declared their candidacy for the 2020 Presidential race? Will President Trump build “The Wall”? Will we ever get a handle on global warming? Who is going to host the 2019 Oscars? Was this year’s Super Bowl Half-time Show indeed an epic fail? It can all seem so important, but it isn’t. It doesn’t matter. Repeatedly, the book of Ecclesiastes says, “All is vanity”.

Tammi is where we all will be one day. The way in which we get there will vary, but we will all be there. . .about to enter into eternity. It doesn’t matter if Tammi eats a gluten-free, plant-based diet or one of ice cream, cookies, and gummi bears. It doesn’t matter if Tammi earned a Ph.D., in Physics or not. It doesn’t matter if she is married to the love of her life or not.  Tammi babysat me when I was little and took good care of me. She has been a loving grandmother to her grandchildren. Na Na, as Tammi is affectionately called, is loved by her baby sister, nieces, and nephews. Her children adore her and are amazed by her strength.  While that is important, it pales in comparison to what matters most and that is. . Does she know Jesus as her Savior?

³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  John 17:3 ESV

⁹because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  Romans 10:9, 10 ESV

When I talked to Tammi back in the fall and asked her if she knew Jesus as her Savior.  She said, ‘Yes, I know Jesus. I have a personal relationship with Him.” Based upon her testimony, she has indeed concerned herself with what matters most. Now, the question is. . .Have you? Have you acknowledged/confessed that you are a sinner, and have you repented of your sin? Have you believed that Jesus is who He says He is-the One who absorbed all your sin and all of God’s wrath for your sin in your place? If not, let this be a nudge to address what matters most.

So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 ESV