What Is a Soul Worth?
(Matt. 16:26)

The story is told of a preacher in England accompanying a young man to the gallows, that sentence might be carried out according to his crime. The preacher, as was the custom, was reading John 3:16- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish...”

Suddenly, on the platform, the condemned man whirled about to the preacher and almost shouted, “Do you believe that? Do you really believe that?! If I did, I would crawl the length and breadth of England on broken glass to tell them!”

The incident discomfited the minister who had nothing left to say. Supposedly, though, it changed his life.

Since I heard that story, I’ve been trying to imagine being that condemned criminal. What was he really saying? If only he had seen the truth of God’s love living in someone, he would have run to it? If only that preacher had gotten to him sooner? If only he had chosen to believe it before now? Maybe some of all of that, and more.

There is a sense in which I wonder if I really grasp the magnitude of what is really going on. Oh, my conscience is pretty well clear with this generation. I have never tried to hide the truth of the gospel from anyone. I’ve always tried to be available to talk to anyone who was interested at any time. For the most part, I have lived faithful to Christ through the years around all others. And yet....

If I really understood, would I be so quick to give up on a soul? Would I be content with what little I’ve done as though that amounted to all I could do? Would sin get by me as easily without rebuke? Would I tolerate it so well? Would not my tears flow more freely for the lost, my heart tremble with the curse they face? When others are “busying themselves with their own houses,” would I take it so well?

Perhaps the question should be, have I really put myself in the place of that lost individual I know? If I were they, what would I need done? What is their soul worth to me? What is mine worth to me?

Terry