Our Bible verse for today: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Don’t spend your life pursuing things that won’t matter in eternity.”
There was a time in by “BC” days (before Christ), when I was a bit of a gambler. I enjoyed playing poker, blackjack, slot machines, and the lottery. For a couple of years during that period my family and I lived in Florida where greyhound dog racing was popular. So from time-to-time Linda and I would go to the dog track, which is similar to horse racing tracks in other states.
The way it works is that the greyhounds are all lined up in a starting gate and there is an electronic rabbit on a circular metal rail that goes around the edge of the entire track. The dogs have been trained from birth to chase the rabbit. At the start of the race the bell rings, the rabbit takes off, the gates come up, and the dogs charge out like they were shot out of a cannon – and the race is on. The rabbit is programmed to move just a little faster than the dogs can run. The dogs race madly around the track trying in vain to catch the rabbit, but they never do.
However, one day the rabbit broke down part way through the race and suddenly stopped. When it did, the dogs caught it. But once they did catch it, they had no idea what to do with it. This had never happened before and the dogs were totally confused. Instead of tearing the rabbit apart, the dogs started barking and yelping and running around in circles snapping at each other. After all those years they finally caught the rabbit and when they did, they discovered it wasn’t what they thought it would be.
Many people spend their lives chasing the rabbit. Year after year they race through life chasing things that always seem to remain just beyond their grasp. It’s exhausting, it’s frustrating, and for the most part, it just leaves them tired and dissatisfied. In the unlikely event they finally catch the thing they were chasing, they often discover it wasn’t what they thought it would be and they end up discouraged and disillusioned.
In Mark 8:36 Jesus asked the provocative question, “What will it benefit you if you gain the whole world but lose your soul?” You see, when it’s all said and done, when your body is buried and your soul is facing eternity, the only thing that will matter is your relationship with Jesus.
As we end this series about “A life well spent”, I encourage you to stay focused on the most important pursuit in life – a close relationship with the Lord. Don’t waste your life chasing after things that won’t matter two seconds after you’re dead. As the poet C.T. Studd once wrote, “Only one life; will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Oak Hill Baptist Church