The Two Things in Life

                                                                     

I heard a comedian tell a short story that is worth repeating.  

It is funny, but it is serious, depending on where you stand in life. 

He said, “There are two things in life you worry about.  Either you are healthy, or you are sick.

 If you are healthy, you do not have anything to worry about. 

But if you are sick, then you have two things to worry about.  

Are you going to get better?  

Or are you going to get worse? 

 

If you get better, then you do not have anything to worry about.  

But if you get worse, you have two things to worry about.  

Am I going to live?

 Or am I going to die? 

 

If you live, then you do not have anything to worry about.  

But if you die, then you have two things to worry about.  

Am I going to go to Heaven?  

Or am I going to go to hell? 

 

If you are going to Heaven, then you do not have anything to worry about.  

But if you go to hell, then you have two things to worry about.  

Original?

Or extra crispy?” 

 

Funny?  

Maybe.  

But I have a different perspective on his joke.   

I borrowed this “joke” from an online comedian. 

My perspective is about life.  

It is about death of the body.  It is about the true life of our soul.  It is about the death of our soul.  It is about the eternal life of our spirit.  

 

Or is it about the demise of all three? 

 

It was once said that if you are born once, you will die twice.

 If you are born twice, then you will only die once. 

 

This is simple to understand.  Jesus makes it clear in John 3: 3:

 

“Jesus answered and said to him, (Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews) ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”

 

Of course, Nicodemus was confused and talked about going back into his mother's womb and entering a second time, thinking this was what Jesus was talking about when He said, you must be born again.    

Jesus was not referring to mankind's first birth, as a baby from our mother’s water breaking, and then we take our first breath outside her womb.  

He was talking about the spiritual birth, by receiving Him as our Lord and Savior.  Jesus died so we could live.  

If we live this life, without Him as our Savior, then we die all three of the above-mentioned deaths.  

Body, soul, and spirit. 

 

So, if we are born twice, in this context, we will make Heaven our eternal home.  If we never receive the finished work of the Cross Jesus died on, (born once, die twice, then we die physically, with soul and spirit included).   

 

The second death is eternal separation from God forever.  

Why?  Because we did not receive John 3: 3 in our hearts. 

 

So many people on Planet Earth have found different religions, and philosophies, to try and fill a void that only Jesus can fill.  

Let's face facts.  Only Jesus died, and was raised from death by His Father, supernaturally.  No other religion or mind-controlled philosophies will ever keep up with what Jesus did.  He was the Word from the beginning. 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

 

John goes on to declare…

“But as many as received Him, (born-again John 3: 3) to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name (Jesus Christ) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  

John 1: 12-13.

 

Now that we understand this, the two things in life that matter the most are easy to define.

 

 Before I do that, let us talk about the things in life that do not really matter regarding eternity.  

Money.  Fame.  Prestige/honor from people. 

 

We all want a life worth living.  

Some people were born with a silver spoon in their crying mouths.  Some were born into poverty.  

Either way, they were born.  

Each person does the best they can, with what they were born into.  Facts are facts.  

“I have never seen a Hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer.” 

 

We all came into this world with nothing, and it is guaranteed that we will not take anything with us.

1st Timothy 6:7.

Except for, what we did for Jesus. 

There is a Beatles song entitled, “Can’t Buy Me Love.”  Refers to love, not being able to be bought, among other things.  

“I don’t care too much for money; money can’t buy me love.” 

Easy for Paul McCartney to say.  He wrote the song and credited it to John Lennon.  Paul is worth 1.3 BILLION dollars in 2025.  He too, will not take any of those dollars with him, when he faces eternity.  He will go out, just like the rest of us.  The way he came in.  With nothing. 

 

First thing in life.  

Find out what your gifts and talents are from God.  Come to a place where you MUST, be born again as Jesus said to Nicodemus. 

Be born-again in the Spirit of God.  Attribute anything that is good in your life, to Christ, and give Him all the Glory.  

Facts are, unless the Spirit of God reveals Jesus to you in the Spirit, you can’t be saved.  

Jesus said, “Do not murmur among yourselves.”   

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. “

John 6: 44.

 

Human beings cannot, on their own, choose to follow Jesus and come to faith.  

 

This highlights the active role of God the Father in drawing individuals towards Christ. 

We must believe that the Gospel is real, and the Bible is true.  

Unless we are Convinced, by God, we will not understand anything spiritual.  

We must be Convicted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, to repent.  

Then, and only then, will the transformation called: Converted, take place.  

From death unto life.  From hell to Heaven.  Born again.

 Now, once this takes place, we hopefully will allow God to Control our lives.  

This is a life-long process. 

Remember these four C’s. 

 

The second thing in life is what? 

Backstory. 

 

On the day that I was released from prison in September of 1977, I had a choice to make.  A crossroads facing me.  “Would I make the right decision?” 

I sat in the theater room in the pre-release unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. 

I was on the front row, listening to all the speakers that day.  The final speaker was a preacher from the Teen Challenge Center in Tyler, Texas.  

David Wilkerson, in 1958, began ministering to troubled youth in New York City.  Specifically, the gang members and drug addicts.  Mostly Heroin addiction.  His initial street outreach and a subsequent recovery home marked the beginning of what is now called Adult and Teen Challenge.  It is a world-wide ministry. 

 

This man of God, when He was done with his speech at the pre-release center, walked up to me and asked,

“When do you get out of prison?” 

I said, “Tomorrow.” 

He stated, “Do you know you have a “call from God” on your young life?”  

(I was 21 then).

I answered him, “I don’t know, Sir.” 

 

Finally, he opened his Bible and asked me my name.  He wrote my name in his Bible, and said for me to get on the bus, and come to Tyler, Texas tomorrow.  

“I will save a bed for you Joe, and you can begin in the ministry there with me.” 

Well, I had been praying about what to do when I left prison.  Now, I had my answer. 

 

The number two thing in life is even more important than number one. 

 

Once you are saved, and figure out your giftings, then get to work.  

Never, stop utilizing the gifts God has bestowed upon you.  We all have talents of some kind.  Some are administrators in the church.  Many are volunteers.  Thousands are missionaries to other countries. 

Keep doing what God has gifted you to do and never stop.  It is called bearing fruit.  

Fruit that remains.  

He chose us, we did not choose Him.

John 15:16.

 

Back to Teen Challenge. 

I never got on the bus.  Fail. 

 

I took the money I had from the State of Texas and ended up in Tampa Bay, Florida. 

 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are not of the Father, but it is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

 1st John 2: 15-17.

 

My stupidity, coupled with my spiritual immaturity, caused me to ignore God and His calling on my life.  Yes, gifts are given without repentance.  

 

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

Romans 11:29

This verse means that once God gives a gift or calls someone to a specific purpose, He does not change His mind or revoke those gifts or callings.  

God’s gifts, which include spiritual gifts, talents, and blessings, are given once and are not taken back. 

God’s callings, which are His specific purposes and plans for individuals, are permanent and do not change, even if people stumble or make mistakes.  

 

He is faithful, even when we are “faithless.” 

 

Boy, was I faithless when I went to Florida. 

I squandered my monies and time, and like the Prodigal Son, it took from 1977 until 1989 to get out of the hog trough I was in.  

I ate garbage from the world, and basically ignored the Teen Challenge Center in Tyler, Texas.  

I never went. 

 

Good news is, God is a God of Restoration. 

 

Twelve long years of prodigal living.

 

 I was so filled with shame and guilt, I didn’t even believe I was saved anymore.  

 

My sin took me way too far from God’s path in life. 

It was totally my fault.  I do not blame the devil or people.  I blamed Joe. 

 

Finally, when I did get back on the Glory Train, I stayed on the track. 

In 2018, I was supernaturally invited to an Adult and Teen Challenge Center in Estacada, Oregon.  I have been preaching there ever since.  From Texas where I live now, I travel twice a year to Oregon.  I conduct services in 7 prisons, Teen Challenge, and several churches. 

 

What I missed in 1977, God gave me a second change to do things right.

 When I share my story with the men in the Adult and Teen Challenge center, regarding how I missed my opportunity back in 1977, they listen.  

I always tell them,

“So, you are here for a one-year stretch, to be set free from drugs and alcohol, right?  And I know many of you have thought about leaving early because you are saved now, and you feel the urgency to get on out int he world and fulfill your calling, right? 

Well, let me warn you about leaving early.  

There is a possible hog trough waiting for you, if you are not ready to do what God is asking you to do.  I know you miss your family.  I understand your wife is waiting for you, and your children miss you deeply. 

Just remember what I did.  I blew it.  It is never a good thing to get ahead of God.  It is horrible to lag and fall away.  It is another, to just get off His path for your life.   

Endure to the end, men.

You gave it your all when you were an addict.  

You spent all of your time and money doing your own thing.  

It is time to do God’s thing now.” 

 

After telling the men in the Teen Challenge Center these things, many come forward and receive Christ.  

Others, who were going to leave early, stay the course.  Many more, get set free. 

God is a God of Restoration.  

 

There are only two things in life worth living.  

I have explained them, and what NOT to do.   

 

Remember the joke at the beginning of this story?  

There are two things you worry about? 

What are they?  

 

If you do not have anything to worry about, then you are okay.  

Just do the two things in life.  It is worth living to do them.  It is not worth dying on the vine and finding out the hard way.  

Avoid the hog pen.  This world has nothing to offer except be a witness for Jesus.  

 

Anything less, is just a third thing.  

Remember, there are the two things in life. 

Copyright © 2025 by Joe Wilkins