What Matters Most (10/20/2026)

As a child, I figured out what was important to my parents early on; what they told me the most often was what mattered most. They wanted to make sure I understood how important it was. They wanted to make certain that I would remember, so they repeated it often. And it worked, for the most part. Occasionally, I would test the theory, but then within seconds, I’d recognized that testing not only wasn’t necessary, but it also wasn’t wise.

When my family gathers together, we talk for hours, but every one of my children and grandchildren can tell you what matters most – loving well and not just saying “love you,” but meaning it. Words matter, but truth and sincerity matter more.

When I was studying scripture, I learned early on that my parents weren’t the only ones who repeated what was important often. In fact, I came to learn in short order that repetition was a flag that demanded attention; what is repeated matters and what is repeated the most matters the most. An example of the repetition of what matters most in scripture would be the Greek word menō  (μένω) which translates into English as abide or remain. In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the word “remain” or “abide” 41 times. In His final discourse with the disciples before His arrest, passion, and death, He uses the word 15 times. It matters.

Jesus tells us that we must remain in Him, and then and only then will we be able to bear fruit because without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). In the final discourse, Jesus mentions bearing fruit through our relationship with Him 6 times, but He mentions the necessity of remaining in Him 15 times. And so, while we’d like to bear fruit in our lives, we need to understand that it isn’t the most important thing. No, it is remaining in Christ and opening ourselves so that He may remain in us. Bottom line: doing stuff doesn’t matter as much as our relationship with and proximity to Christ.

There is nowhere we can go that Christ will not be with us. So, we don’t have to worry about Him keeping up with us. Rather it is a case of whether or not we are willing to open ourselves to Him and remain with Him. When we sign off at the end of our prayer, do we also exit our Lord’s presence? Or do we remain with Him, companions throughout the day? Do we make room for Him in our moments between prayers?

As we continue our journeys of faith, bolstered by hope, and fueled by love, let us understand the centrality of Christ to our lives and to our journeys. Let us open ourselves to the irony of this journey, that we are trying to make our way to Him, but we can’t unless we remain with Him all the way.

“Remain in me as I remain in you.” It matters to Christ. It needs to matter to us.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.