She was young, healthy, pretty, with many friends and interests—in short, she was living what is called “a full life.” Many people might say enviously, “She has it all!”
But one thing she lacked! When a Christian talked with her about receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior, she seemed to be weighing her choices very seriously. She put her pleasures and prospects on one side of a scale, and an indefinable something, “turning religious,” “getting saved” or something of that sort on the other side. She came to the conclusion that the loss would be greater than apparent gain if she were to take the step to Christ.
“See how much I will lose,” she said in conclusion.
She was asked, “Did you read the other day of the big fire where a house was burned and an elderly woman at the top of the house was rescued at the last minute by a fireman?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then try to imagine the fireman dashing into that room and saying, ‘Lady, you haven’t a moment to spare! Come quickly, and I will save you,’ and the woman answering, ‘See how much I will lose if I come with you just now? I have jewelry and art treasures here worth thousands of dollars-must I lose all that?’ The fireman would say bluntly, ‘Lady, if you don’t come this minute, I must save others and leave you to your fate.’”
She agreed that no sane person would be likely to say anything so foolish, yet she was doing that very thing and risking her immortal soul for the uncertainty of her present life.
Are you doing the same? Suppose you put in the balance on one side the things that go to make up your life and without which you think you could not live, and on the other side of the balance you put Christ. What will you lose?
Your sins.
You may have your pleasures; you certainly have your sins. Do what you will, go where you wish, live as you please—you still have your sins, from which you cannot get away. Sometimes the thought of your sins haunts you, the knowledge of the penalty of your sins terrifies you, but still you hesitate, asking yourself, “What will I lose if?”
Add it up yourself. Put all you have or can hope to have in all your life on the one side, and at the end write: eternal loss.
On the other side think of every possible trouble and sorrow that you can have if you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and write at the end: life everlasting.
It just doesn’t balance at all! There is no way to compare the two lives, but the Lord Jesus put the matter clearly when He said when He was here on the earth, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-3736For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36‑37)).
The choice is yours—make it now for Christ, for life, for eternity.