What Lasts When Everything Else Is Left Behind

Last night, sleep didn’t come easily. I fell asleep quickly enough, but four hours later I was wide awake, staring into the dark with no hope of drifting off again anytime soon. Instead of fighting it, I decided to pray and spend the quiet hours communing with God. My heart felt a little heavy. A couple of dear friends are currently in hospice care, and knowing they are nearing the end of their earthly journey has a way of making you think deeply about life, death, and what truly matters.

As I prayed, I found myself reflecting on that familiar truth: we come into this world with nothing, and we take nothing with us when we leave. You’ve probably heard the old saying that no one has ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul. Our homes, possessions, accomplishments, and titles all stay behind. And yet, Scripture reminds us that while our bodies return to dust, our souls do not. We come into this world with a soul, and we leave this world with it too.

In my half-awake, prayerful state, an image popped into my mind—an SD card, like the ones we use to store photos and files. Stay with me here. In my thoughts, our souls were like SD cards, quietly storing the contents of our lives: the lessons we learn, the choices we make, the love we give, the faith we live out, and the ways we serve others. Scripture teaches that those who belong to Christ will one day receive new bodies—bodies that don’t grow old, don’t get sick, and don’t die. And I imagined that when that moment comes, all that matters most—the faith, the love, the hope, the obedience—gets carried with us into eternity.

That thought brought me so much comfort as I thought about my two friends. In just a few days, they will leave behind everything they accumulated here, but they won’t leave behind what truly counts. Their faith, their love for others, their trust in Jesus—those things go with them. And it made me pause and ask myself: what am I storing in my “SD card” each day? What am I choosing to hold onto, invest in, and pour into others?

Maybe the lesson for us is this: if we can’t take our stuff with us, then our lives are meant to be about so much more than stuff. They’re meant to be about love, faithfulness, kindness, obedience, and pointing others to Christ. Tonight, tomorrow, and every day we’re given is an opportunity to store up what truly lasts. And that, I believe, is a life well lived.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19–20)

December 21, 2025 Morning Brew

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