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What Really Matters? By Glenn Hanson

The young Irish man was sitting in a restaurant with his Christian friend having a cup of coffee. They were talking about spiritual things, and in the middle of the conversation the young Irish man said;   “I just want to know what counts!”

• Don’t talk to me about religion, I’ve been down that road.

• And please stay away from theology, I have a degree in that.

• Just get to the heart of it.

• I want to know what counts!

The young Irish mans name was Ivan, and he went on to say to his Christian friend, ” I grew up in the Church–I wanted to go into the ministry–I took all the courses, the theology–the languages, all the other necessary courses– but I quit, something just didn’t click,” “It’s in there somewhere,” he said, “and he spoke with sincerity, “at least I think it is.” He looked up from his coffee– straight into the eyes of his Christian friend,  and his Christian friend could see the frustration in Ivan’s face, and he said to his Christian friend with a sense of urgency!  “What really counts, skip the non-essentials–go to the essence– tell me the part that matters!”

As I view this scene in my mind, I can see the Angles of God holding their breath–waiting for the young Christian to answer the question– “What really matters”– for the Bible says “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.” The young Christian  looked at his non-Christian friend for a long time, and the question seemed to hang in the air— “Tell me the part that matters.”

Sad to say, but the young Christian couldn’t give his friend an answer –he thought he  could have told him about the church –or give him some doctrinal answer– something spiritual– or read him the 23rd Psalm  “The lord is my Shepard” or told him about prayer or the golden rules about loving God and neighbors, but he knew these were not the answers his friend was looking for.

Stop for a moment– and listen with your heart:

• Can you hear the young mans question?

• Can you feel his frustration–his pain?

• He wanted to be a minister–he wanted to know God–but he was empty

• He hadn’t found the answers in his Church

• He hadn’t found the answer in the seminary or in all the classes he attended

And in desperation and sincerity he was asking his Christian friend;

• Tell me the part that matters

• What have I been missing

• Why don’t I have peace and joy
• What would you have told him?

What really matters when a precious soul hangs in the balance?  Heaven  on one side–hell on the other.

There are over a thousand pages in the Bible–so what really matters when a soul hangs in the balance?

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