40. The ONLY Thing That Really Matters

What does your life say about your faith?

That is a question that can stop us in our tracks.

In this touching Christmas episode of Courageous Retirement, Vona Johnson invites you to slow down and reflect on the one thing that truly matters. Inspired by her annual Christmas card and a tender memory of her dad during the advanced stages of dementia, Vona shares how a simple phrase he repeated about her stepmom revealed a deep truth about faith, love, and legacy.

Drawing from 2 Peter 1:10, Vona explores how faith is more than belief—it is a lived expression of knowing Jesus, growing spiritually, and allowing our actions to reflect the One we follow. 

Through personal stories of loss, forgiveness, and God’s gentle leading, she encourages listeners to step into a deeper, more intentional walk with Christ this Christmas season.

Whether you’re entering this holiday season with loved ones who don’t share your faith or simply feeling the weight of this stage of life, remember this: we are uniquely equipped to help others feel loved because we know what it means to love Jesus. 

As you gather with family and friends, let your presence reflect His. Being with Jesus is the only thing that truly matters—so shine a little of His light, share a little of His love, and let every conversation be touched by His grace.

Episode Timestamps:
00:00 — Introduction: Reflecting on Faith
01:21 — A Personal Story of Loss and Faith
02:42 — The Imperfection of Humanity and the Need for Forgiveness
04:39 — The Importance of Faith and Spiritual Growth
08:10 — Practical Steps to Deepen Your Faith
09:49 — Final Thoughts and Christmas Reflections

Quotes from the show:
 "Don't be fooled by the glossy finishes you see of the people dressed up in walking through the doors every Sunday, sitting in the pews looking perfect each week. Every person sitting there has something going on in their life."

 "Faith is a precious gift...too many of us get this beautiful gift and we place it up on a shelf and we admire how beautiful it is, but we never take it off the shelf and we never open it up and allow it to truly change our lives."

Scripture:
2 Peter 1:1-10
John 1:1

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Transcript

0:00

What does your life say about your faith? That question haunts me. The question was presented in the footnotes of my new Living Translation study Bible as I was doing my devotional this morning. The question came from 2 Peter 1:10, which says,"Work hard to prove that you really are among those. God has called and chosen." I spent days contemplating what I was gonna do with this week's episode for Courageous Retirement. In fact, it should have been published yesterday, but I didn't have anything to say. And then as I was doing my devotion, it became really clear to me that the thoughts that I'd been formulating to write my annual Christmas letter yep, I still do'em. But God knew all along that this was a topic that I needed to share here, and he reminded me of that this morning as I was studying the verses in 2 Peter 1:1-10. I hope you'll stick around so I can share some thoughts about what really matters during this Christmas season, this season of advent, or truly in all seasons.

Speaker: 1:03

Do you fear? What lies beyond retirement? What if it's a gateway to a life filled with purpose, meaning, and adventure rather than an end? Discover peace and fulfillment as you boldly enter this new chapter in Courageous Retirement, a Christian podcast. I'm your host, author, and coach Vona Johnson. Let's get started.

1:21

So a few years ago, my stepmom passed away. And in the days and the weeks that followed her passing, my dad was in advanced stages of dementia and had struggled remembering that, you know, where she was. And he kept saying, you know, when are we gonna go see her? And there's a whole lot of stuff behind that and some theories that I have about what that question really meant. But every time he would ask me that, I would just simply say, dad, she is gone to heaven. She's with Jesus now. And every time I would say that to him, he would pause and he'd say, yep, that's the only thing that really matters, isn't it though? You see, even though most of dad's memory had slipped away by then, um, he, no, he no longer lived in his own home. He was no longer able to carry his cell phone. He didn't drive anymore. He didn't even know my name anymore. But he knew who Jesus was and he knew that he was gonna go see Jesus one day, just like his wife. Siblings, parents, all of those who have gone before him, he knew that that was the final outcome and it brought him so much peace to know that when his time was up here on Earth, that he would be in heaven with those who had passed before him. You know, no one could ever accuse him of living his life perfectly. He was a good man. In fact, Despite some of the things that some people might question activities, as a Christian, he knew that because Jesus was his Lord and Savior, his sins were forgiven and that he too would rest in Jesus' arms one day. Fast forward to August 19th of this year, and that was exactly what happened. Dad went home to be with Jesus and his wife and the many others who had passed before him. As I contemplate my first Christmas without my dad, I give thanks for his life. He was kind, generous to a fault, and always had a smile on his face and a word of encouragement for those around him. He was just simply happy and at peace with his life even. Even though things seem to be falling apart all around him, as I mentioned, his life wasn't perfect. But that's the point. We don't have to be perfect to receive salvation. I've heard it said that people stay away from the church because they don't want to be associated with all those hypocrites that are there, but we are all broken and all in need of forgiveness. Don't be fooled by the glossy finishes you see of the people dressed up in walking through the doors every Sunday, sitting in the pews looking perfect each week. Every person sitting there has something going on in their life. They may have a broken heart because a loved one has walked away from the church or their family. They may hold grudges against people at work because that person never carries their own weight. They may have a diagnosis or some sort of pain that cannot be cured. They may have lost a loved one recently, and that pain of that loss has not healed. They may have regrets of choices that they've made throughout their life, like abortion, divorce, alcoholism, and maybe even a criminal act. But none of that matters. Only Jesus does because he came to save us all from our sin and death. That's why we have hope. And that's why we keep coming back week after week to hear God's living words spoken over us. When we wander away from the church using others' behaviors as our excuse, we lose touch with the one thing, the one person that can pull us out of our despair. See, that's what the false teachers of the world wants though. They want us to doubt our faith. They want us to doubt ourselves. They want us to think that we alone can pull ourselves out of it, which is simply not true. We must rely on the Holy Spirit, which is what we get help from as we are in the Word and pray to Jesus. We see it all around us. People who no longer believe that Jesus is who he says he is or can do what he says he can do. Too many want the abundance of God's grace and peace that is promised to us, but they're not willing to do the work that's necessary to get to know him through the Bible study and prayer. We want the fruit of the spirit without growing and nurturing in the very faith that brings us that fruit. To have the peace that God promises, we must grow in our knowledge of God and his son, Jesus Christ. It is the only way and is truly the only thing that really matters in this world."By his divine power, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself. By the means of his marvelous glory and excellence." That is straight out of 2 Peter 1:3 faith is a precious gift, and as I wrote in my book A Different View, too many of us get this beautiful gift and we place it up on a shelf and we admire how beautiful it is, but we never take it off the shelf and we never open it up and allow it to truly change our lives. Faith has to be more than believing who Jesus is. It must result in developing strong Christian characters. Actions that demonstrate the love of Jesus to others and a good moral discipline. Peter says it beautifully as we go on with verses five through eight."In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with generous provision of moral excellence and moral excellence with knowledge and knowledge with self-control. And self-control with patient endurance and patient endurance, with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with the love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." You see, our faith has to be an integral part of our lives and not just something we believe. It is the actions that we take as a result of good fruit and spiritual maturity. We are not saved by our good deeds at all, but our faith results in good deeds. Anyone who claims to be a believer, but whose life remains unchanged, does not understand faith or the beautiful gift that God has given us. Truly, if you're not making an effort to develop the qualities listed in the verses that I mentioned above, you may not belong to Jesus at all. That's a hard truth. So what do we do about that? Where does one even start? With all of this? We find a church that preaches biblical truth. One that goes beyond making you feel good about yourself and helps you see where you fall short. One that includes confession and absolution for our sins. I challenge you to spend time in God's word. Ask him what he wants you to do. What's his will for you in your life? Ask him to align your desires with His desires, and then pray for the wisdom, the discernment, and the courage to do his will. If you need help with this, check out my book, Equipped For More, because it helps build the 10 essential habits that we need to boldly live out our faith. We need to guard our thoughts, our words, and our actions at all times. If you find yourself thinking about all of the negative things that are happening around us in this world, you need to stop and you need to look for the good. There's always good buried in all of the negative too. There are miracles and blessings all around us. Watch for them and thank God for them daily. Be grateful to him for all of the beautiful things you have in your life. Tell others about this wonderful gift of faith. Point them to scripture and help them see where the world and even some churches are leading them astray in the name of love. True love's gonna help people see how they are or have drifted from God's eternal plan, and it will point them back to the path that he has for them. Encourage others to get to know Jesus and then love them exactly where they are. Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead them where they need to be. Okay. So my Christmas letter probably won't go into all of that. I'll have to give some news about our life and things that are happening around here. But the reality is that there are people that are hurting in the world. They want and need the message that comes from scripture comes from Jesus and his Word It always stops me cold when I realize that at the beginning of John 1:1 it says,"in the beginning, the word already existed. The word was with God, and the word was God." So when people try to tell you that the Bible isn't relevant anymore, that's like them saying that God isn't relevant anymore, that Jesus isn't relevant anymore. There is nothing further from the truth. The truth that Jesus is the word, and he wants us to love the word like we love him and to change our lives to live it for him. I just pray for you that as you walk through these days, weeks, months, years, decades ahead, that you will think about. The only thing that really matters, that's literally what's on the card that I'm gonna be sending out this year. It says, when you get right down to it, the only thing that really matters is Jesus, that that is what it's all about. So stay focused on him. Help him be the thing that you see in the midst of all of the other things that are out there. And if you know someone who has walked away from the church. Take opportunities to just show them love. Don't, don't call'em out. Don't, don't make it a big fight. Just love them where they are and help them to hopefully see a glimpse of Jesus through your words and actions. I just really wanna challenge you to think about what does your life say about your faith? Do you really trust God or are you just still trying to run everything and control everything on your own? Surrender to him. Love him and love others as you love him. If you really wanna see my Christmas letter, send me an email or go ahead and go to vonajohnson.com and join my newsletter. I'm gonna share it there. It's old fashioned. I get it. It's, I, I just can't stop because to me, it's the one opportunity every year that I get to share Christ's love with others. And it's gonna bring special meaning to me this year because this is my first Christmas without my dad. And yeah, I'm gonna miss him, but I know that I know that he's with Jesus Christ and that is the only thing that truly matters. God bless you. Thanks for stopping by today. We'll see you in two weeks, right back here at Courageous Retirement. Until then, go be blessed and always, always live your more.