There are things that can be estimated, but the soul of man no one can value. If we want an idea of its value we must look at the cross, and see Jesus, the Son of God, dying there to redeem it. There we see the estimate God puts upon it. The infinite sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, of infinite and eternal efficacy, shows us the value God puts upon the soul of man.
Man, as to his immortal part, the soul or spirit, never dies; it lives on, and will live on for eternity. Nothing can annihilate it. The body may be destroyed, it may die, and go to dust, but the spirit returns to God who gave it. “The body without the spirit is dead.”
Beloved reader, have you soberly thought of this? that you are a being that is to live for eternity? Time is not everything; death is not all; it does not close your existence; therefore you cannot say, “Come, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” After death what then? Judgment or glory? Eternity! what is it? How long? Ah, dear reader, if you could take all the leaves of each tree in the wide world, and count a hundred years for each leaf; and if you could take the sand of the desert, and count a thousand years for every grain; and if you could take the water of the mighty oceans, and count a million years for every drop; and if you could take the particles of air in infinite space, and count a billion years for every particle; putting these figures together, and adding them up, would give you a rough estimate of the beginning, the morning of that eternal Day for the righteous; and the beginning of that eternal night for the unrepentant and lost.
Ah, friend, of what untold value is your soul!
Are you seeking the world, serving Satan, putting something before your soul? Are you placing more value upon the riches, the honors, the fame, the glory of this passing scene, than upon your priceless soul that must live forever? Friend, answer me, “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)).
To give the soul for the fleeting joys, honors, riches and glory of this poor world, is worse than folly; and since the soul is of infinite value, nothing can be given in exchange for it. Put the soul into the scales; let it be put into the one side, and the world, and all it possesses, into the other side, and let the hand of God hold the balances, and what will be the result? The soul will weigh all down, and the poor world, with its boasted all, would be as the small dust of the balance, compared with the priceless and immortal soul of man.
God gave His Son to redeem us, to save us from eternal night and misery; and to bring us to endless glory and happiness with Himself. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)).
Could anything be more simple or solemn? The one who receives Christ, receives everlasting life and glory; and the one who rejects Him, sees not this life, does not possess it, will never know its blessedness and joy, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
O, the value of a soul! Its worth can only be rightly known by seeing what God gave to redeem it—HIS OWN SON.