I heard a great message a while back by Max Lucado about what we cherish in this lifetime. The message posed some pretty challenging questions like “What are you the most grateful for?” or “what do you thank God for the most?” and “what do you invest most of your time in?” These are all excellent questions and immediately got me thinking. Then an illustration was given to really bring the message home. Max said, “Take a sticky note and put it on all the things that you value, but only put them on the things that will be burned up in the end. What remains should be the answers to the questions asked at the beginning.”

So then I thought, what in my life can really be impacted by eternity? Eternity does not consist of my job, my car, or my house (and everything in it); eternity consists of the hearts of my family members, the heart of my wife, the hearts of my kids, the hearts of my friends, the hearts of strangers, and of course, my own heart. These are what I should cherish, praise God for, keep watch over, be the most grateful for, and invest the far majority of my time with.

Job put it very well when he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart” (Job 1:21).

Money Can Buy
A bed but not sleep
Books but not knowledge
Food but not appetite
Finery but not beauty
A house but not a home
Medicine but not health
Luxuries but not comfort
Pleasures but not happiness
Religion but not salvation.
-unknown

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 (NIV)

Peace in Christ my brothers and sisters!