The Value Of Your Soul
These days, many people are looked at by their net worth. The possession of land, houses and other properties. All the material things in your house including your clothing, jewelry, furniture, electronics, and appliances. People look at the year model of your car and the make and model of your car and decide how much value you have.
Other times, people look to the person to see what values they have. Do they have moral values that they live by? Do they appear to have a moral compass? Recently we saw the mayor of Chicago tell a business owner that they did not share the same values. This really goes to show how bad things are in Chicago, because their city has one of the highest murder rates in the country, and recently it was reported that twelve people were shot in a span of thirty minutes. There are many examples of value systems that are morally corrupt, and void of any spiritual matter.
But let us focus upon the value of our eternal soul. When God created man, He breathed into mans nostrils the breath of life. God placed a soul into this man. Only man is made in the image of God, and only man has a soul. Animals, insects, fish, and birds do not have souls. When life ends, the spirit (life) returns to God who gave it. The body returns to the dust of the ground (or is absorbed into nature in many ways). For man, the soul is brought up to God for judgment. This fact alone is cause for us to be concerned about the soul of any man or woman.
In Matthew 13, we read of the pearl of great price and the treasure in the field. We have traditionally viewed it from the perspective of man finding this treasure and sacrificing everything to get it. But I want to view this from a slightly different perspective. The man (God) is searching for something of great value; the pearl and the treasure are the soul of man. That soul is so valuable to Him (God) that he sells all He has (Jesus the Son) in order to obtain this great treasure (your soul). The more I think about it, it makes sense. God sent Jesus to die in our stead because God values our souls that much. Jesus valued our souls to the point of allowing Himself to be sacrificed upon the cross. Jesus taught the value of the soul in Matthew 16:26 "For what will a man be profited if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Our souls are valuable to God. Should we not treat our souls as a great treasure and seek its best interest by living in such a way that we can be saved and spend eternity in heaven with God?

By Carey Scott

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