“And every day,” author Iain S. Thomas wrote, “the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.’” [1]

A brilliant piece of writing, this paragraph moves from strident urgency to gentle determination. The cadence of the opening words pulls us along at an alarming speed; then the slow rhythm of the last line stops us suddenly in our tracks.

When you yank your hand away from the world’s tight grasp and place it on your heart, what do you declare is most important? It’s a question we must ask as followers of Christ, and ask not once, but every day. Because as Thomas said, every day, the world tries to set our priorities for us. And every day, we must reclaim that right. We must decide each day that our thoughts, words, and actions will reflect the presence of Christ in our lives.

It’s rarely an easy choice. That’s why Jesus told would-be followers to count the cost. If we want easy, Jesus said, the world has plenty to offer. But none of it compares to the life we find in him. Our commitment to Christ must be more important than anything else. It must be our highest priority. When it is, we begin to develop the proper perspective on ourselves, others, and things. We learn to let go of the past, of our guilt, of things that weigh us down. And we learn to cling tightly to Christ, whose presence and power enable us to declare, “No. This is what’s important.” And with that declaration, with that power and presence in our lives, we can move courageously onto a path we may not understand and into a future we cannot predict.

What is most important to you?

“Those who find their lives will lose them,” Jesus said, “and those who lose their lives because of me will find them” (Matthew 10:39).

[1] quoted at http://www.goodreads.com

This post was also published at Christian Living in the Mature Years.