Text:
‘For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, loses his own soul, and is himself destroyed or lost? Or what will a man give in exchange for his own soul?’ – Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25 (Combined)
Thought:
Early in 1976 I felt the Lord calling me into fulltime ministry within the church. I had had experience of all aspects of service in the small church I attended, but I wanted to do more. “Have you thought about Bible College?” my minister asked. But what about my career in retailing? I had just received a 25% increase in salary, with the area manager promising to back whatever promotion I applied for. God challenged me with the words, “How much of WHSmith will be in heaven?” The more I prayed about it, the more convinced I became that Bible College was the right thing to do. In fear and trembling I completed the application form, knowing it meant the end of my secular career and a giant step into the unknown as I obeyed the will of God.
What’s been the driving force in your life? How much of God features in it? What did you gain? What did it cost you? How much did you lose? Far too many lose a partner, children, health, even everything in pursuit of worldly dreams, riches and goals.
In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus teaches the parable about the rich man and Lazarus. He gives us a very graphic description of the afterlife. We learn:
The rich man still had his senses and feelings after death
Pain, torment and concern – but it was too late!
He cried out for a bit of comfort – ‘cool my tongue’
His body felt like it was on fire – but it was too late!
He started to pray
Maybe for the first time in his life – but it was too late!
He was concerned for his own family now
To stop them ending up where he was – but it was too late!
He desperately tried to get out of where he was
He believed in hell now – but it was too late!
Everything he had gained in life meant nothing. All he had done wrong weighed heavily. He had nothing to give in exchange for his own soul, even though he had spent a lifetime amassing riches. Every opportunity he had had to put God first and be saved came back to haunt him. The awful truth was that it was his own stupidity, unbelief and pride that had caused him to end up in hell, when all the time God wanted him in heaven – but it was too late!
The verse prior to the text says, ‘If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself.’ We all have a ‘self’ that will spend its entire life thinking only of itself and will end up the loser. We have to deny self, humble self, realise we cannot save our self and call on the name of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul got it right when he wrote, ‘But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ’ – Philippians 3:7-8.
Let’s go and do likewise!
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