It is a commonly believed today that humans are a fluke of evolution; a mere conglomeration of cells that over millions of years have adapted favorably to their environment, rendering a living, feeling, communicating, reasoning, and reproducing life form. The Bible, however, clearly teaches that we were deliberately designed and created by God, and that each of us possesses an immortal soul that will continue to live after our bodies have been destroyed by decay.
The Bible describes the creation of the first human in the following way: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The verse does not say, “and man became a living body”; rather, “man became a living soul”. We are souls, and we have bodies; we are not merely bodies.
We see our body, but the real individual is within. The part of us that feels, desires, hopes, dreams, and searches, is the soul. People speak of someone, who has died as being ‘gone’, even though the person’s body may still be present. When someone dies the real person (the soul) enters either Heaven or Hell, and only the shell of the person remains (their body).
Many people today evade the thought that they are an eternal being because in accepting that truth they also embrace the fact that they will eventually meet their Creator. Since there is a God who has created us, and since we are indeed eternal souls, then each of us should be planning for our after-life.
Adolph Hitler was a man of ambition. He eventually became the Fuhrer of Germany and leader of the Nazi regime. While the world was still reeling from WW1, Hitler amassed an astounding amount of arms and resources, and with his blitzkrieg conquered much of Europe and part of North Africa. It seemed that he was literally seeking to ‘gain the whole world.’
April 1945 found the Allied Forces just west of Berlin and the Red Army advancing from the east. As the pathetic shreds of the Third Reich crumbled above him, Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. We have no reasonable hope that Hitler was prepared to meet his God.
The Bible raises a very valid question in Mark 8:36, 37: “For 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?”
How would you personally respond to that question? What would be the benefit of gaining everything that the world has to offer only to die and leave it all behind? What would it profit you? This life is just a stepping stone to eternity. The wise will not invest in this life, but in the life to come. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
What will you trade for your soul? It may be for much less than the whole world, but even the whole world would not be worth the exchange. Prepare for eternity today while there is still time. After all, what is worth trading for your soul?
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