Matthew 16:26
What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul?
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I
took the children swimming after church today. Afterwards, as I tried
to distribute towels, remove life jackets and water shoes and sack
everything wet before we went to the dressing room to change, I promised
every child who stayed in his/her seat a Lifesaver ® candy when we got
to the car. Every child sat motionless…and then one-by-one, each child
popped out of the chair for some random distraction. By the time we got
to the dressing room, nobody was in line for a piece of candy!
Oh,
the remorse that can come from children ages 6, 4, and 3! They were
SORRY! They would never do it again. PAH-LEASE??? Can’t we just have a
Lifesaver®? So we started over. Okay…let’s see who can put on their
clothes and sit quietly on the bench until we’re all dressed! It sorta
worked…and the children redeemed themselves enough to get the candy when
we got in the car.
Here’s the thing…you and I are not little
kids…and we cannot bargain with God to gain entry into Paradise. All of
the possessions and money in the world won’t buy us a ticket to
Eternity at the feet of Jesus. Don’t we all know of at least one person
who seems to have it all…or “has more money than sense”…yet this person
has destroyed his/her life with drugs, alcohol, gambling, a sense of
entitlement that ruined any and all personal relationships, and more –
and essentially “blown it?” Don’t we know people who seem to have
everything going for them…but they don’t appear to have any semblance of
a relationship with God – and some downright disavow Him?
If you felt you had blown it completely with God, what would you do to get back your soul? Do you understand that there is only one thing that matters? Do you get it that the key
to all of this is to love God with all your heart…to love others as He
loves you – and as you love yourself…and to put serving Him above
everything and everyone else? This is the “ticket to heaven.”
Inviting Jesus into your heart, confessing your sins to Him and asking
that He forgive you is the only way to ensure your Eternal Life with Him
in Heaven.
We cannot just sit on the bench and promise to never
get down again. We can’t say, “I didn’t mean it,” and trust that God
will look the other way and let us have the “Lifesaver®.” We are not
little kids, and our salvation and relationship with Jesus Christ are
nothing to negotiate and treat in a cavalier manner. What if we gain
the world and lose our soul? The world is NOTHING…Jesus is EVERYTHING!
Without Him, the world doesn’t matter.
What would you give to
get back your soul? Give your heart to Jesus! Commit fully to His will
for your life…to sharing His message with others and loving them as He
has commanded. This is the “Lifesaver®” worth achieving! Are you ready
to do what is necessary to receive it?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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