All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

Love God. Love people. That’s what Jesus compressed all the purposes of life into. If this is true, why do I often miss it? Why do I look at all the other stuff in my life, in my day, in my sacred moments of life and weigh them with more credence than love? Why do I try so hard and worry so much about things that are unrelated to true love?

In the past I have performed many funeral services for families.  In my years of speaking I’ve probably done 2 to 1 funeral messages to adult Sunday morning messages. Most would find that a little odd…to those I would say, yes, I am odd! But honestly, meeting families and hearing their stories – even seeing their stories to some extent, has shaped me tremendously. God’s given me the opportunity to love families of stillborns, young children, murder victims, prostitutes, suicide victims, plane and car accident victims,  disease victims, and sometimes just people who lost a loved one from old age. Sometimes families have good things to say about their deceased, sometimes they don’t have a kind word at all. And without exception, it comes down to love. Did they love or not? Invest in love or in neglect?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit alongside Donna Borlik (our children’s director) and her family as they sat bedside waiting for her mom to pass from this life to the perfect life…a life in the presence of God. It was humbling to hear story after story of her family, and of her mom. Not every chapter is perfect, but it’s filled with love. Tuesday I get the privilege of honoring her – and honoring Christ. And at the end of another earthly story one conclusion still holds true; All that truly matters in this life is that you loved.