What Really Matters
what lives inside: the soul,
endures…
through joy and sorrow,
triumph and loss;
throughout all ages this much
remains:
the love we share,
the faith we follow,
the hope we hold tightly to
as all else about us
passes sadly away.
yet between this earth
and heaven above,
a ladder – a bridge of sorts,
has been placed.
the son of Isaac and Abraham:
Jacob, one night saw
angels upon it;
ascending and descending;
and the Lord above, standing.
when our mortal life
has run is course,
may the Son of Man,
Jesus Christ,
confess our names,
as we have confessed His
name before many people;
as we have shown His love through
many trials to those in need around us.
at the threshold
of that ancient and awesome gateway,
then may the angels
carry us, bearing us up,
with God’s sure blessing
into the everlasting kingdom of heaven.
but for those who have denied Him
before many witnesses,
so then He too will deny them,
just as He said.
despite their earthly riches,
by their indifference they are doomed
to an altogether different
destination, imprisoned in Gehenna’s torment;
where within their sight,
so near and so far, lies paradise.
there, for an age, they thirst,
and the great and terrible abyss
fixed between, they are
unable to cross;
there they learn much of suffering
and are encompassed by despair.
O there is One Who holds the power
to cast our souls
into the fiery pit!
The Same One Who is able to deliver
and lift us up from the depths
of the lowest hell!
Yes, One Who,
because of His great love for us,
gave His Only Son
that all might not perish
but have everlasting life.
what really matters?
how we respond to the Lord of Heaven’s Hosts:
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob –
and His Son,
Jesus of Nazareth:
He Who Lives
and was crucified!
He Who gave His life
as a ransom for many!
what really matters?
how we respond
to even the least of these: Christ’s brothers and sisters:
those hungry and thirsty,
those homeless strangers,
those sick, or in prison,
those suffering and surrounded by despair.
– Jery Dan Deutschendorf