necessary and essential

As I strolled this morning I considered how there is always a "bottom line" to things.  Of course in business the bottom line is generally about making profits (though recently that has become more rare).  In medical research there is a search for the trigger or initiator of an ailment.  When it comes to behavioral problems, there is generally something underlying that behavior from the past.  I thought about daily living and considered the "bottom line" of our day-by-day.  Two words stood out in my mind: "necessary" and "essential".  The root meaning of necessary goes back to words that mean "no backing away".  The root meaning of essential means "the basic element of being".  It originally meant "the substance of the Trinity".  In our everyday use we probably use these as synonyms but there is an important difference.  The unavoidable things of life tend to be thrust into our faces and we must deal with them.  The stuff of life...the essence of what it means to really live...we must purpose to recognize, appreciate and claim.  Of course we know Who is behind "the basic element of being" and "the substance of the Trinity".  I think the bottom line of life is finding what is essential about life and discovering that the Lord, Himself, is the essence.    Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the ways of life;       You will make me full of joy in Your presence.   blessings, Rob Smith http://2daysthought.blogspot.com/