I recently came across an article entitled “Top 10 Must-Have Apps for the iPhone, and Some Runners-Up.” It got me to thinking about this matter of “must-haves,” for I have come across similar lists for different contexts or products—like household devices, or carpentry tools, or music gear, or church equipment.
What makes something a “must-have”? Who determines what should be included in the list of “must-haves”? In the end, most “must-haves” are context-specific. That is, they are significant only to those who see themselves as directly affected by the listed items. For example, I really did not bother to read closely the article on iPhone apps. Why? Because I do not have an iPhone. Of course, there would be those who would insist that’s where I should start: I must have an iPhone! Really?
In one of his songs, Jadon Lavik raises the important question, “What are you living for?” He aptly describes the way we often get caught in the pursuit of the world’s “must-haves.”
More things to buy, more clothes to wear
The perfect job, the perfect wife
A new color for the hair
Take a look around the way we’re livin’
It’s no secret we think that just a little more
Just a little bit further then we’re there
Don’t get me wrong. Many of the things that people consider “must-haves” may be very useful instruments to make life or certain tasks a little bit easier. But it becomes a problem when such things are elevated way above their actual value; when they become one’s passionate pursuit.
Yet there are certain things that demand our attention for they have to do with matters of eternal significance or consequence. The apostle Paul succinctly describes the one absolute “must-have” that applies to everyone: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3.10–11 TNIV).
“To know Christ.” This is the one “must-have” that no one should ignore. God our Creator is the only one who can accurately determine what we really need. And it is that sinful humanity should reconnect with him, the only source of real life. And he has provided the means for that to happen: submitting to the loving leadership of Jesus Christ.
—Keith Y. Jainga