“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?'” John 11:25-26 ESV
Essential. I considered Danni to be an essential member of our family but she got sick. After a week of seizures and suffering we were finally told there was no hope and we made a painful decision. Within seconds our essential eight year old puppy dog was gone.
I am considered an essential employee. I carry a letter from my place of business stating I am traveling to work because I’m essential yet I haven’t been to work in over a week. I am staying home unless needed and am essential only on an on call basis.
Jesus was essential in heaven yet he was sent to earth to become a man. He was essential on earth to teach his disciples to carry on God’s work so that all peoples might know him as their Lord and Savior. Jesus is essential and yet he died, hanging on a cross for you and me.
Essential is defined as absolutely necessary and extremely important. It is fundamental, vital, and indispensable. It is being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character.
We would all like to believe that we are essential and yet we too will die. While on earth we make an impact on those we love and those who love us but time passes and so do we.
Our longing for time and eternity is found in God. To him we are essential. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. Luke 15:10 tells us, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents”. Acts 17:28 says, “For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring'”.
Here on earth, we may be considered to be essential only by a few. Our status may change from day to day and we may only be needed on an on call basis but with Jesus our status will never change. He loves us with an everlasting love. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We are loved and important to him.
We will not have to carry traveling papers to prove we are essential in heaven. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God for the day of redemption. I Corinthians 15:52 states, “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. I Thessalonians 4:17 ends with, “And so we will be with the Lord forever”.
Essential things on earth may be temporary and will soon pass away but we will always be essential to our heavenly father!
Just Another Dog Devotion 