Vol. 7, No. 24 – June 19, 2022 – God and Dad
And calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” –Mark 8:34-36
We live in moments where the human soul is being soiled and spoiled. There is great pollution through our news media, trash news, internet, social media, prejudice, drug abuse, environmental activism, and political misleading.
Why do we put a higher value on fish than on people? Contamination of the sea, the sky, and the soil are dangerous – and we are right to be concerned – but the corruption of the soul devastates personally and rots society, and ends in death. A soul is very valuable to God. My dad’s soul is valuable to God. God gives us reasons for this value.
- Our soul is valuable because it is eternal
Dad’s body was an awesome structure – but the body goes to the grave no matter how strong it is. The body dies – we are destined to die once (Hebrews 9:27). As the body has its various parts, the soul has its various faculties and attributes. The soul is that part of us that has understanding. Wisdom and knowledge from God are part of the soul. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding – Psalm 111:10.
The part of us that makes judgments is the part of our souls that weighs and determines things that come before us, and the decisions that we make about everything in life. With our will, we choose to respond to all that comes before us. The outcomes of our choices are filtered through what we place in our hearts. Affections, memories, and conscience—all a part of our soul—makes our souls very valuable to God. My dad’s soul is like that.
- Our soul is valuable because of Satan’s interest in our soul
The Bible teaches a great deal about evil and Satan who is building his evil kingdom. Jesus warns those who dismissively handle the truths of God. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart –Matthew 13:19
As the message of Christ and about His death on the cross, and about our need of knowing the Savior is communicated, there is someone else working on the heart. The Holy Spirit speaks … but so does the evil one. Satan wants our soul – he does not want us to make a commitment to Christ. He does not want anyone to be saved. My dad listened to the Holy Spirit.
When we come to Christ by faith, we come against the wish of all that is evil in our world. God values our souls and earnestly wants us to commit to Christ. How valuable is our soul to God? Highly valuable. Christ valued our soul’s so greatly, He died to redeem our souls. God has great value for dad’s soul today.
- Our soul is valuable because of God’s concern
The Bible often speaks of God’s concern about saving and developing our souls. The Bible says, The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance –2 Peter 3:9. God does not want our souls to be lost. This is why God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us –Romans 5:8.
God loves us. He loves our souls. He knows all about us – He knows our hearts thoroughly. His love is so great that He gave His Son to die on the cross for us. He died for our sins … so great is God’s value for our soul.
So great is God’s value for dad’s soul that Christ took his sin, and by His blood cleansed him to bring him to an eternal standing of righteousness before Himself. How great a value God has for dad’s soul. He received God’s value by committing his life to Christ alone. God provides the same value for each one of us should we commit our life to Christ.
- Our soul is valuable because of the nature of their loss
It is difficult to lose health, wealth, friends, or even our character. However, the loss of our eternal soul is a much greater loss. The Bible defines lost as being separated from God, from God’s love and God’s mercy. We lose in this life and etrnity when we do not come to Christ. For those who do not choose Christ, a place is reserved called a place of sorrows. Christ never intended that folk go to the place of sorrows. He provided a place of joy, to be present with Him. Dad’s choice is the place of joy – a place where the value of a soul is celebrated.
- Our soul is valuable because of the price that Jesus paid for our redemption
The Bible says, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot –1 Peter 1:18-19.
Some try to get to heaven in their own way. They ignore that they must have their sin forgiven; ignore the requirement of God to accept Christ as Savior. They lose eternal life and exchange it for eternal death – separation from Almighty God. Dad recognized how much God valued his soul. If he were to stand before us today … having entered the joy of eternal life … his question would be to us: Do you really know how much God values your soul? Make sure you choose Christ. There is no other way to eternal life.
Dad entered eternal life on July 2, 1994, … he was prepared to do so.
How is your preparation today?
