Deleted. Chipped. Broken. Lost. Dead. Gone.

Written by Jon Spargo

I once spent hours on a video game with my son only to have his friend come over to the house and delete everything we’d done. That was fun. Another time I found a neat figurine of a sumo wrestler that I really liked, and my mom bought it for me as a gift. Later it fell and chipped. A friend bought my wife and me a beautiful beta fish as an anniversary present (odd gift for an anniversary, I know, but try not to get lost on that part). The fish lived for a while, but eventually died.

Deleted. Chipped. Broken. Lost. Dead. Gone.

Those words carry pain when associated with things we once valued. But the lasting memories give us a beautiful gift- reminding us that many things we often highly value will not last.

In Matthew 16:26, Christ draws our attention to the subject of value. What value or profit is there if a man gains the whole world…let’s stop there for a moment to let that sink in.

The. Whole. World.

I mean, that’s a lot. I can think of things I’d love to possess, just for the fun of it. My dream vehicle is a Toyota 4 Runner. If I had the whole world, I would have a fleet of these tricked out exactly how I wanted them. 

I’d also have a custom home built underwater off the coast of a Caribbean island that can only be accessed with scuba equipment. The entire structure would be one big submerged bubble to easily view aquatic life. (You can probably tell I’ve given this some thought.)

If we consider gaining the whole world, I can imagine quite a bit. But Christ calls us to consider something deeper. What if you gained all that, but lost your soul? I mean, what could someone possibly offer you to swap for it?

Nothing. 

The soul, the core of who we are as people, is quite literally the most precious thing we possess because it is eternal. You don’t sacrifice eternal things for temporary things. Some trades are foolish, but that would be just plain stupid.

The question then becomes: if my soul is the most precious thing in my possession, what am I doing with it? What is the best way for me to preserve it? Christ offers a clear answer in two simple words: Follow me.

I could have preserved my game by just not having that kid come over to the house. I could have protected my sumo wrestler figurine by locking it in a box and putting it in a closet. Unfortunately, there’s not much I could have done for the fish….that was bound to happen.

No matter what effort I expended, all of those things would eventually fall out of my possession. But not my soul- THAT I have forever. And the only way for me to see it preserved and protected and thriving is to simply follow Jesus. 

All day. Everyday. Nothing else is worth that.