Matthew 16:26

New International Version

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

For Meditation

It was time to apply for admission to the three universities in his nation. His mother gave him money for it, but he squandered it and never started the process, trusting his brother’s promise to bring him to the United States of America to join him. When the high school results finally came in, he had qualified for university. His classmates got in the following September, but he couldn’t because he had not applied. He gave up an opportunity for beginning his college education, but for what—the promise of overseas travel that did not end well after all?

Every minute, millions of people around the world make decisions that ultimately impact their lives and future, for better or for worse. The tragedy is the irreversible destruction that many such decisions bring to the lives of those they negatively affect. They are tragedies they regret for the rest of their lives. The worst thing is how carelessly they handled those situations with little thought.

If you ever doubted how profoundly our daily choices can affect us, leading to lasting regret, then reflect on the single decision with eternal consequences for the soul. This is the crucial choice regarding Jesus: whether to believe in Him and commit your life to Him, or to reject Him in disbelief. This is the only decision in life that dictates where your soul will live for eternity after death. Tragically, millions have been passively letting this golden opportunity slip away. While we can often rectify and improve the outcomes of many other decisions in life, our response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is final once death has passed.

That is why Jesus asked these two poignant questions after His invitation to discipleship and in His dialogue that followed the prediction of the manner and nature of His impending death in Jerusalem (Matthew 16:21-27).

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul (26)?

These are questions every human must answer before the soul departs and the grave calls for the body. In the busyness of life, we forget to seek the best anchor for our souls. With the only two destinations available—heaven and hell—which anchor should we firmly choose, Jesus or what the world offers?

God offers eternal life through faith in Christ (John 3:16), calling everyone to come to Him in repentance to receive salvation for their soul (Matthew 11:28; Acts 26:20; Romans 10:9-10). The world challenges this offer with false religion and deceptive beliefs, human and philosophical arguments, wealth, and prosperity. Which of these two better appeals to your soul, and which offer will you accept? That decision concerns the soul and is for eternity. So, choose God’s mercy and grace through Jesus and live. Amen!

The young man in the introductory story got admission to the University the following academic year. However, unlike him, the rich man in Jesus’ parable of Lazarus, as recounted in Luke, found himself unable to alter his eternal fate after death. He also could not offer any help to his brothers back on Earth (Luke 16:19-31). Don’t let it be your story.

Shalom.

Pray with Me

Father, thank you for the offer of life through faith in Christ. Help me reject the world’s appeal and the false enticement of wealth and glamor. May I have victory in Christ against the enemy and the appeal of the flesh. Amen.

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