Do you know the value of a soul?
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26). “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). All that God created was good, and that includes man whom He created in His image. He created man with a spirit that will live on, with a moral nature that can reason and freely choose to follow Him and to come into fellowship with Him. Every soul is of great value because man was made in the image of God.
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). Every soul is of great value because Christ died so that every soul could have the opportunity to be saved!
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:4-7). I’m too far gone to be saved by Jesus, someone thinks. Nonsense! The importance of every soul to Jesus, along with the rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, tells us of the great value of one soul.
“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:34-37) Every soul is of great value because even if a person could gain the whole world, it would not be worth losing his soul!
So many today do not know the value of their soul. They walk in darkness without direction and purpose. But man was created in the image of God! Christ died for all! Heaven rejoices over one soul that repents! Nothing gained in the world, not even the whole world gained, is worth one’s soul! While some are willingly ignorant of these truths, our prayer is that God would give us opportunity to teach these truths to those who will hear. When you see someone outside of Christ, do you see a soul to try to save? Remember the value of a soul!
-Larry Jones