Two old guys

Two old guys are standing in their backyards talking to each other over the fence on a Saturday afternoon.

One of them comments about his neighbor’s dog, which is bounding around on the lawn. “That is one fine-looking dog! Is he a purebred?”

“Yes.”

“What do you call him?”

The other guy gets a blank look on his face and replies, “I can’t remember… it’s on the tip of my tongue. Can you believe it? Uh… what’s the name of that flower that’s really fragrant and grows in bushes and has lots of thorns?”

“Rose?” answers his friend.

“Yah, that’s it. Thanks.” And then he looks toward the house and shouts out, “Hey, Rose! What’s the name of our dog?”

What’s the old joke about three signs of old age? “The first is your loss of memory. I forget the other two.”

What’s good about the aging process? You stop bothering with the trivial and focus on what’s most important. Things like family, friendships, pursuing truth and serving others.

There are only a few things in life that really matter. If you’re a Christian, or if you interested in looking into it, it’s the Gospel. The Main Thing.

The Gospel is worth remembering…in fact, the Apostle Paul put it this way: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time….” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)

The Gospel… that Christ died for our sins and that He was raised on the third day, a miraculous event that was verified by many, is something that is of first importance.

We’ve got to remember it… and hold to it firmly, and keep sharing it. It’s the Main Thing.

And what are you supposed to do with this Gospel?

According to the Bible’s simple and straightforward perspective… you’ve got to receive it by personal choice, you take your stand on it, you’re saved by it and you’ve got to hold firmly to it (which is another way of underscoring what it means to really believe in it).

So…I’ve forgotten all kinds of things in my life, but this one thing I know, and will never forget: Jesus, God’s perfect, righteous Son, died in my place for my sins.

Jesus took all the punishment; Jesus received all the wrath as He hung on the cross, so people like you and sinful me and absolutely anyone at all… could be completely forgiven and become a new person, from the inside-out.

Is your life Cross-centered? Is the Main Thing the Main Thing… to you?