OF INESTIMABLE VALUE!
Our soul is the most enduring, precious, and important part of our being. We are responsible to God for the choice of the future abode (after death) of our soul! Jesus said, “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 8:36-37). The makeup of our being is the soul. It consists of our thought processes, our feelings and desires, and determines what we will do with our lives. God asks: what will you give in exchange for your soul; the eternal and most valuable part of your being? Jesus tells us the only way it can be brought to the pinnacle of value, and be glorified eternally, is to give it to God, our Creator.
Many only “lend” their souls to God and take them back when their flesh dictates a desire that is not in keeping with God’s plans and holiness. The soul that lends itself part-time to God will never live up to God’s highest potential and bring forth the glory innate in God alone. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Our flesh allows corruption, but the convicting power of the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. For six years of my walk with God, I only gave a part of myself. Without realizing, I never totally dedicated my life to God. I rejoice that God’s great love brought me to the awareness of my mistake. The day I totally gave my life to Christ, and I meant it with my whole heart, God totally took over. What a difference surrendering “all” makes in your walk and experience with God! “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). You will never have the “fullness” of God until you give Him “all”.
Our souls will be judged for the words and deeds done in the body. Separation from God or eternal blessings with God will be the result of God’s judgment. Our full attention should be on the “saving” of our soul for eternal life with God. A life lived through obedience to the Spirit of the indwelling Christ will produce holiness and righteousness in our soul (life). There is no buy-back from the pit of destruction. The fate of the most precious part of our being (our soul) is in our own hands. Let us not be of those who draw back to perdition! “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe (IN CHRIST) to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
Christ is the “keeper and protector” of our souls. All we have to do is put Christ in charge of our being (soul). Satan is the destroyer of our souls. We have only one life in which to make choices that will lead us to eternal glory or eternal destruction. After death there are no second chances. Our choices are daily before us and those choices mold us into the person we become and determine our future. Through the choice of living for Christ and His Holy Spirit, we become holy and righteous like our Savior. When we are governed by the dictates of our corrupted flesh we become marred and it will become obvious to the world. “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves; they are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots” (Jude 1:12).
Who we choose to be our father (God or satan) is eternally and spiritually the most important decision we will ever make. Only our Creator can give us eternal life. In our flesh we can do nothing, but in Christ we are new creations who can be inhabited through our spirits by God. If we do not give ourselves to God, the god of this world (satan) will produce his corrupted fruit in us. “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
If we are led by the Spirit of God, then we are God’s children. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). When we are led by God, we are given eternal life and residence in His presence. You know through “faith” if the Spirit is leading you or if you are walking strictly in the guidance of the unregenerate soul (mind, emotions, and will). There is only one God and one path that can lead us to a life of “inestimable” value to God, ourselves, and the world. If we are led by the Spirit of God, and are obedient, we will do the “work” of God. Only then can we fulfill His purposes for our life.
The heavenly father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us will supply the divine power and graces needed to make us into the person God has called us to be. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We are transformed from the corrupted man of the flesh into a righteous person who bears the image of God. It is the “character and nature” of God through his spirit within us, who provides the divine building blocks to become “sons of God.” Our “soul” is the essence of life, feeling, thought, and action. The soul is eternal and it resides at death forever in the kingdom of whoever is Lord of our life. It is the eternal “soul” or life within us that we give to or withhold from God. Again I say, the soul has inestimable value!! “For whoever desires to save his life (FOR HIMSELF) will lose it, but whoever loses (FREELY GIVES) his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24).
Some of us are born with a sense of destiny that originates in the flesh. If that sense of destiny or self-ambition is not rooted in Christ it cannot bear eternal fruit. Over and over again we see lives with great talent and potential dashed on the rocks of their corrupted flesh. Only through Christ can we set in motion everything required to achieve God’s plan and eternal goal and glory. God is the “highest authority for life and He says: “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:8).
Even Jesus Himself said, “I do nothing of myself. He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29). Whether we like it or not, our lives are eternal and we will be held accountable for what we do with the soul (life) God gives us. “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds:’ eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — indignation and wrath” (Romans 2:5-8).
The greatest responsibility God has given us is to guard our eternal soul. The “soul” is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: “the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action.” It is the spiritual part of our being, separate from the body, and survives death. Our soul dictates the “worth or value” of a person. The body returns to dust. The spirit leaves the body and returns to God who gave it. The soul is eternal and is the essence of our life and faces judgment after death. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart (OR SOUL) with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established (BY GOD’S TRUTH AND WISDOM). Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:26-27). “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish” (Psalm 146:3).
Our prayer: Holy Father God, and divine Savior, we come before You! You alone are worthy of praise, adoration, and glory. Without You we would have no abundant life, no wisdom, understanding or truth. Most of all, we could not become children of the living God without Your redemption. We “praise and thank You” for our rich inheritance in Christ. We want our lives to glorify You. We give You all of ourselves. Keep us by Your blessed Holy Spirit and may we fulfill all righteousness in Your name. Call us to be laborers in Your vineyard. Fill and anoint us with Your Spirit. We will love You forever and ever. Amen.
