What Really Matters

It is often said that as we grow older we begin to view life in a different light. Those things that seemed to be important when we were younger, such as material things and plans for the future, loomed large in our thinking.

There has always been the tendency, and temptation, to want to make ourselves secure in life through what we have. Whereas in later life, at least for the Christian, those viewpoints and goals are inclined to decrease as they are replaced by that which is most important and enduring. Recently the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 6:21 came home to me with new force and conviction, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If God is the treasure of our souls then our hearts, our affections and our desires will be placed on things above. An earthly minded person proves that their treasure is below; a heavenly minded person shows that theirs is above.

It is easy to be gripped by idealism when young, but that usually gives way in later life to realism as the experiences of life teach us what is important and what is not.

The work of salvation by grace alone is to conform us into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and takes place in the environment of a world that is godless and hostile to the God whom we love. This conformation can be hindered or helped by those things that are important to us and to which we cling tenaciously.

To put this in perspective it would be good to consider the following facts:

Less than one fourth of the world’s population sleeps in a bed at night;

Three fourths sleep in a hammock of some kind, or on a floor with no mat, or on plain dirt;

The belongings that matter to many of us are beyond the comprehension of at least three billion and more, other people on our planet.

Sometimes the things that don’t matter can be taken away from us…the things that may have become our props in the Christian life. When these are stripped away we are left with that which is most important…spiritual realities.

Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” This statement of the Lord is often spoken of as being a sad statement in that He was describing His poverty. However they should be seen as triumphant words in that Jesus was stating He was not rooted to earth; there was nothing to hinder Him in His onward march to Jerusalem, to the Cross, and eventually to glory.

This principle taught by the Lord Jesus distinguishes the things that really matter from those of little or no importance and that should be our consuming passion as His followers. We should hold loosely to the things of earth and focus on that which is eternal and enduring. Those servants of God who have made the greatest impact in missionary endeavour have followed in the train of the selfless love of the Lord Jesus. This is what really matters.

Warren Wiersbe states, “Contented Christians are people with priorities, and material things are not high on their priority lists.”

In our Breakthrough this quarter we read of those in our fields of ministry who, through the experiences of life, are learning what it means to commit themselves to the service of Christ in a sacrificial and enduring manner.

William Smylie

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