The Cost of a Soul!

We are a cost-conscious people. We always want to know the cost of what we are going to buy, or even the cost of what someone else has bought, whether it be food, clothes, a car, a house, or a vacation. We would never dream of buying anything without first finding out how much it cost. But how many in the Christian world consider the cost of their belief system, their salvation, or their soul? We seldom give any thought about what our salvation cost, and to what extent Jesus went to secure it for us. We often take it for granted. While it is true that salvation is a free gift from God to us, it is also true that our salvation has a cost attached to it. Even though a soul has infinite worth to both the Creator and the created, it is not something that we can put monetary value on. The value of a soul must be measured in a spiritual sense, rather than a worldly sense.

Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

God in His infinite grace has allowed man to have a say in what happens to his soul. This is called ‘free-will.’ It is important to note that while we draw breath, while we remain alive; we have a choice regarding what will happen to our souls when we lay down this physical body. [Deut. 30:19]. Once this earthly body goes into the grave, the soul then returns to God. At that point in time, what God does with that soul will totally depend upon what we have or have not done with it in this life. While we breath and live, we have the privilege of choosing to do what is right in God’s sight or what does not please Him. It is only while we are alive that we can check the condition of our souls. Once we die, we face an eternal judgment – heaven or hell!

While we may have a very superficial way of measuring wealth, God looks at our worth in a very different way. He refers to those who invest in His Kingdom as wise stewards, and those who invest into their own worldly ways as foolish people, because an investment in this world is temporal while a heavenly investment is eternal. Yet while we know this and think we understand it, we are too caught up in the worldly way of analyzing wealth, success, status, popularity, and compromise. We are aware of the truth of God’s Word but we would sooner put it to the back of our minds and examine it at some later time or date. We choose to make any excuse to postpone those thoughts, to our detriment!

Scripture tells us that a soul is precious to the Lord. Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” So, if God regards a soul returning to Him as precious, it stands to reason that it must be worth much to God. For God to reach out to humanity to seek and to save that which was lost means that God could not see His own image and those that were created after His own likeness relegated to eternal destruction without any saving grace in sight. God reached out and extended a hand of love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness to all who would receive Him and confess that He is Lord and God. We can either place our value in the material of this world or we can put them into good use for the Kingdom of God and for His righteousness. What are you willing to do? Make the right choice today!