Suppose I made a real offer today that I would pay you $10 million for your heart. You say that’s absurd. Ok, how about $50 million? 100? A billion? It’s nonsense because what would you do with all that money if you’re dead? It’s useless to you.
Jesus asked the question, “What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what would a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36,37
If you could accumulate all the wealth of the world, or have all the power, authority, influence or fame that is possible for one person to achieve, if you could enjoy all the pleasurable excitement this world has to offer, or any other thing that you could seek to accomplish or have, ultimately your life, however long it may last, is only a brief, insignificant speck on the infinite timeline of eternity. If you lose your soul in the end, is it really worth it?
In light of eternity, is there anything out there that’s really more valuable than your soul? What would you be willing to go to hell for?
Jesus takes all the things that you and I struggle with, are tempted with, and are drawn to in our flesh, and he puts them into proper perspective with one simple question.
As profound as the implications are for you and for me, the question and the answer are both quite simple. Any person with even a hint of intelligence can figure it out. How should we respond?
The heart that none of us in his right mind would sell for any amount of money is the same heart (figuratively) that Jesus demands that we surrender to him for free. He will have all or none of it.
In the same passage of Mark 8, Jesus told them, “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Wow. If you are trying your best to keep your life together and chase after temporary things, you are actually setting yourself up for a colossal failure, but if you will lay down your life and obey the gospel, you will gain an eternal life that you can never lose.
Come to Christ today. Turn from your sin and your worldly pursuits, surrender your heart and life to Him, and you will find what true life really is. He will open up a whole new world to you.