August 2004 Meditation
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)
Dear friend, have you ever thought about what life would be like if you were independently wealthy—if you were to win the jackpot in the lottery and never would have to worry about money the rest of your life? If you are like many others, your thoughts have undoubtedly gone in that direction. To think that you would then be able to live in the house of your dreams; to drive the car of your dreams; to enjoy the vacations of your dreams; to have everything you have ever dreamed of having.
It should not be surprising that many in our culture dream of such a day and are investing all their time and energy to achieve this dream. We live in a culture that communicates to us that a man's worth and accomplishment is to be measured by the things he possesses. And thus we are surrounded by men and women are in relentless pursuit of these objectives, hoping that at the end of the day they will find happiness at last.
Are you perhaps one of them as well? What if you would succeed in achieving everything you have ever dreamed of and by the end of you life had become the wealthiest, most famous, and most powerful person on earth—if you had achieved, for instance, what people like Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch have achieved? Or, to use the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as quoted above, what if you would be able to gain the entire world? Then what? What happens when the day comes that also men like Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch will have to die? What will they then do with all the billions they have amassed? When they will be laid to rest in the most expensive coffin money can buy, will they then be able to take one nickel with them? To ask this question is to answer it. Also for them the truth of the Bible shall be confirmed: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7).
This makes the question of the text under consideration a most urgent one. Christ here confronts us with the reality that our present happiness and future destination are not determined by what we acquire and achieve in this world, but rather by the state of our souls. He is telling us here that the value of our soul far exceeds the combined wealth of this world. We were created by God as spiritual beings who can find their happiness and fulfillment only in a personal father-child relationship with God. And that relationship is only possible through the Lord Jesus Christ who, by way of his death on the cross, has made it possible for us, sinners, to have such relationship with God. Only when you can call God your Father does life have true meaning and purpose. If, however, God is not your Father for Christ's sake, and you were to die in that state, you would have lived in vain—even if you had gained the entire world.
My friend, is God your God? Are you His child? How you, a sinner, may become His child will be discussed in the next installment of this meditation.
Pastor B. Elshout
