The Price

       I recently saw an article about the price of things in Venezuela and showed a picture of a stack of money required to purchase one item, such as a chicken, a roll of toilet paper or a pound of butter.  The stack of money was way out of proportion considering the item being purchased.   Would you ever consider paying $1,000 for a box of crackers?  Would you consider paying $2,000 for a T-shirt?  While these prices seem ridiculous, there are, in this world, some things that really don't seem appropriate.  There are some who make salaries that are way out of proportion for the services rendered.  Some make millions of dollars for doing very little.  The  election campaign several years ago, saw both candidates spending over a billion dollars each.  That means that the two of them combined have spend $2,000,000,000.  Now, that's a lot of money.  For instance, at $25,000 each, you could send 80,000 missionaries into the world for one full year.  Now, if you were sending out national missionaries at $1,000 per year, you could send 2 million missionaries into the world.  Jesus asked a question that bears looking at.   Matthew 16:26 says, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
        What is the value of a soul?  Obviously, it is far more important than an election or a sports hero or an expensive box of crackers.  Jesus proposed that if a person had gained everything that there was in the world, and still came to the end and forfeited his soul, his accumulation of wealth would be worthless.   We often hear the cute story that you never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer behind it.   Ecclesiastes 5:15 reminds us, As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. "  All of your accumulation of "things" will be left behind.  So, what is the value of your soul, or that of your neighbor, or that of the man, woman, boy and girl on the other side of the earth?  While things may be out of proportion in this world, there is a reminder from God's Word that we should be about the business of proclaiming His message in order that men and women, boys and girls might be saved.  Be ready today to share your faith with someone.  Ask God to place someone in your path today where you might be used to share something.  After all, it won't cost you anything to do it.  Praise God for the free gift of salvation and also praise Him for the price His Son paid for that gift.