In
the country ballad
That’s All That Matters, written by Hank
Cochran, some rather “cool” concepts emerge.
In
fact, on the album liner for Ray Price’s “Burning
Memories” album (circa 1965), we read: “That’s
All That Matters is a tender demonstration of
understanding and forgiveness, perhaps love’s sternest
tests.”
Let’s
look at the words of the song:
I know I’m not your first
love, but they’re just a past memory.
For I’m the one that’s got
you now, and that’s all that matters to me.
I know other arms have
held you, but I’m not jealous of these.
For mine are the arms that
hold you now, and that’s all that matters to me.
I came alive when you came
along--you brought life back to me.
And I don’t care what’s in
your past; you’re as far, as far as I can see.
I know other lips have
kissed you—I know you’ve been thrilled and pleased.
But mine are the lips that
kiss you now--and that’s all that matters to me.
This
is one beautiful song, and such a grateful attitude can
go a long way in salvaging the relationship between a
man and a woman. The spiritual implications should be
clear, too.
First
love is often thought to be something a person will
never forget—someone special, when love was young and
new. For the Christian who walks in “newness of life”
(Romans 6:4), the message is clear in Revelation 2 (NKJV):
4“Nevertheless
I have this
against you, that you have left your first love.
5“Remember therefore from where you have
fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will
come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its
place—unless you repent.
God
was not our first love. We were once in love with the
world, with all its alluring “attractions.” But God
chose us so that we might, in essence, come out of the
world (Rev. 18:1-5). As we read in 1 John 2:
15Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16For all that
is in the
world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the
world. 17And the world is passing away, and
the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides
forever.
That
“first love,” then—the world--should for us become “just
a past memory.” Our Lord is the One who has us now—if
we are following Him (Luke 6:46, 1 Cor. 11:1, Gal. 6:2,
etc.). And our
first love for the truth of salvation should
not be allowed to wane or die.
In
this case, though, ours is a
jealous God
(Exodus 34:14)—but there is such a thing as righteous or
godly jealousy, and He wants us to now hold
Him as our
first love, as we find in 2 Corinthians 11:
2For I
am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have
betrothed you to one husband, that I may present
you
as a chaste
virgin to Christ. 3But I fear, lest somehow,
as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your
minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ.
We
were once held in the arms--and throes--of the world but
are now under the everlasting arms of God--held in
His arms
(Deut. 33:27, Rom. 8:12-23, Jude 24-25). And that’s all
that should matter to us.
We
came to life, real
life, when He came along--He brought life back to us
(John 10:10), and that’s what should really matter to
us. Notice Romans 6:
1What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace
may abound? 2Certainly not! How shall we who
died to sin live any longer in it? 3Or do you
not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death? 4Therefore
we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. 5For if we have been united together in
the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be
in
the
likeness of
His
resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old man
was crucified with
Him, that the body of sin might be done away
with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For
he who has died has been freed from sin
When
this happens, our sins are forgotten (Isa. 43:25). In
the words of Psalm 103:
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So
great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12
As far as the east is from the west,
So
far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13
As a father pities
his children,
So
the Lord
pities those who fear Him.
14
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we
are dust.
15
As
for man, his
days are
like grass;
As a flower of the field,
so he flourishes.
16
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it
no more.
17
But the mercy of the
Lord
is from
everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to
children’s children,
18
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember
His commandments to do them.
Then
we are “as far as I can see,” as our Lord would say. He
no longer sees us as we were—no longer cares “what’s in
our past” but has “made
us sit
together in the heavenly
places in
Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). See also Ephesians 1:3 and
1:20). That’s what should matter to us.
God
knows that we “have been thrilled and pleased” by the
world in the past, but as we continue to walk in this
newness of life,
He is only thrilled and pleased by
that (John
3:16). As 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord is not slack
concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance.”
This
means, of course, that we
continue to
come before the Lord for strength whenever we are
tempted, and He will then show us the way. Look at 1
Corinthians 10 in this regard:
11Now
all these things happened to them as examples, and they
were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of
the ages have come. 12Therefore let him who
thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to
man; but God is
faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond
what you are able, but with the temptation will also
make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear
it.
We can
also read Hebrews 4:
11Let
us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest
anyone fall according to the same example of
disobedience. 12For the word of God
is living
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. 13And there is no
creature hidden from His sight, but all things
are naked
and open to the eyes of Him to whom we
must
give
account.
14Seeing
then that we have a great High Priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast our
confession. 15For we do not have a High
Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
was in all points
tempted as we
are,
yet without
sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need.
Our
Lord—and our Father—wants us to succeed, and we will do
that if we follow the instruction found in 1 Peter 5:
6Therefore
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your
care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour. 9Resist him, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your
brotherhood in the world. 10But may the God
of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect,
establish, strengthen, and settle
you.
We are
to consistently repent of our sins when we become aware
of them, as we read in 1 John 1:
8If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If
we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and
His word is not in us.
Then
we will follow the instruction in 2 Peter 1:
1Simon
Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained
like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our
God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2Grace and peace
be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of
Jesus our Lord, 3as His divine power has
given to us all things that
pertain to
life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who
called us by glory and virtue, 4by which have
been given to us exceedingly great and precious
promises, that through these you may be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that
is in the
world through lust.
5But
also for this very reason, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6to
knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to
perseverance godliness, 7to godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8For if these things are yours and abound,
you
will
be neither
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9For he who lacks these things is
shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that
he was cleansed from his old sins. 10Therefore,
brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and
election sure, for if you do these things you will never
stumble; 11for so an entrance will be
supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Understanding and forgiveness, perhaps love’s sternest
tests”—oh, but our Lord has these in His relationship
with us
As
people heed these instructions found in God’s Word,
essentially He says to them, “That’s all that matters to
Me.”
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