For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Matthew 16:26
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Reading this verse, I thought of a sister’s experience I’d ever heard of. On one occasion, God’s gospel came to her. But she didn’t cherish this opportunity, and still spent her time and energy on making money. On a rainy evening in the winter, her husband urged her to fish. And they had a good catch that day. On the way home, to lighten the boat, her husband intended to swim ashore. Seeing her husband swam away, she hoped she could return home luckily. However, the boat sank, she fell into the water and she couldn’t swim. With strong fear and choking feeling, she cried to God desperately in the struggle, “Almighty God, help me!” After that, a miracle happened—the paddle split from the boat. She surfaced by the buoyancy of paddle … After she was out of danger, she truly experienced that no matter how much money one earns, it is powerless before death. Money cannot save our lives. If one only blindly seeks material enjoyments but doesn’t come before God to worship Him, he may face danger and death at any moment without God’s care and protection.
Just as the Lord Jesus said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mat 16:26). The Lord Jesus also said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Mat 6:19-20). “Truly I say to you, There is no man that has left house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luk 18:29-30). From then on, she began to focus on reading God’s words and seeking God’s will in everything, and she felt much more at peace and at ease.
Share some of God’s words:“People spend their lives chasing after money and fame; they clutch at these straws, thinking they are their only means of support, as if by having them they could keep on living, could exempt themselves from death. But only when they are close to dying do they realize how distant these things are from them, how weak they are in the face of death, how easily they shatter, how lonely and helpless they are, with nowhere to turn. They realize that life cannot be bought with money or fame, that no matter how wealthy a person is, no matter how lofty his or her position is, all people are equally poor and inconsequential in the face of death. They realize that money cannot buy life, that fame cannot erase death, that neither money nor fame can lengthen a person’s life by a single minute, a single second.”
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