By Josh Liggin
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). Jesus’ statement here is obviously designed to impress upon the hearer the superior value and worth of the soul. There is nothing that comes even close by comparison! Missing out on heaven, the idea of forfeiting your soul, would not be worth any amount of monetary or worldly gain! We might say, without exaggeration, “Heaven? I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
There are things in this life that we wouldn’t dream of missing out on: graduations, weddings, birthdays, etc. These kinds of events are important to us, because they are a celebration of those whom we love, and some of them are once in a lifetime events. Other events are not quite so rare, but are nonetheless important to us. We wouldn’t skip out on a family vacation or a holiday. We wouldn’t want to miss the professional sports game for which we had paid a hefty price to procure tickets. After all, these are fun and exciting things to do. We enjoy recreation and entertainment. We might be so ambitious and serious about these pursuits that we would even say “I wouldn’t miss that for the world!” Arguably this is a major overstatement, and we realize that if someone really offered us the world upon the condition that we skip one of these particular events, we would probably really consider the possibility of forgoing our plans to get the world. Of course this is not going to happen, but we talk this way because we are trying to communicate just how important these types of things are to us.
If there are things that we wouldn’t “miss for the world”, what kinds of things are we willing to miss out on: keeping a dentist appointment, performing jury duty, painting the house, etc. If you are like me, I will try to find excuses to get out of these kinds of activities. Perhaps some would rather have their teeth pulled than serve on a jury, but that’s probably just another illustration of hyperbole! The truth is there are some activities in this life that we will do whatever we can to skip. Even the smallest excuse will do.
When it comes to assembling with the saints to worship God, many of us “miss out” on these opportunities all the time. And for what? What is it that is preventing us from coming to worship God? Reasons abound for not assembling with the brethren. We have all heard them: I’m sick. I have a cold or the flu. The kids are sick. I have a really bad headache today. I’m just drained from a long day at work. I didn’t sleep well and was too tired. Or, I overslept. The weather was bad. The roads were icy. I wasn’t in the mood to worship. I have been feeling really discouraged. I didn’t feel like it. I got called into work. I have to rest up for work later. Etcetera, etcetera.
Now I want to be careful not to sound too judgmental by listing all of these reasons for not coming to worship. To be perfectly honest, I have used some of these specific reasons to excuse myself from assembling for worship in the past. But let’s be honest, some of these are nothing more than excuses, and pretty poor excuses at that. Having said that, I do recognize that some of these reasons are indeed legitimate excuses for some. But the question I would like for you to consider is: “Are they legitimate excuses for me?”
=Perhaps if we look at this same question from another direction it will help us to see more clearly. So, let me put it this way: Would you miss that family holiday celebration if you had a cold, or were tired, or had a headache? Would you miss your relatives wedding just because you got “called into work”, or would you tell your employer that you had other commitments already? Would you miss that playoff game that you bought tickets for months ago, if you had just experienced a hectic day at work, or the weather was a little inclement? If you wouldn’t miss those kinds of things for these reasons, then why would you miss worshipping together with your brethren for these same reasons? Certainly something to think about!
There is no doubt that spiritual pursuits are more important that physical pursuits. Jesus said, “Do not work for the food which perishes, bur for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27a). Consider also the contrast between the sister Mary and Martha: “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His words. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:38-42, emphasis mine – jrl)! If spiritual pursuits truly are more important and more valuable, then why do such small obstacles seem to prevent us from pursuing these kinds of things?
Whatever it is that is getting in your way of serving and worshipping God, it is not worth it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37).
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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