Submitted by Pastor David Wynn, Tarkio Christian Church

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If any man would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

The messages of Lent are difficult to preach on each year. Difficult because the subject matter is always the same: Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice.

Sacrifice.

In order to show the world we are sincere in our sacrifices this time of year, we are usually asked to give up something we really enjoy. Why?

Because our sacrifices honor our Savior who gave His life for us, the ultimate sacrifice, so that we will spend our eternity with him.

There are a lot of stories about giving up “whatever” for Lent. Now, some of these sacrifices have great long term benefits. Ethel Merman once said, “At one time I smoked, but in 1959 I couldn’t think of anything else to give up for Lent so I stopped – and I haven’t had a cigarette since.”

One person missed the point, I think, when he said, “I get the whole sacrifice aspect of Lent, but I don’t think God wants me to be miserable. So there’s no way I’m giving up booze.” I can relate to what one person said, “I’m giving up snow and cold weather for Lent this year.”

How about 40 days without Facebook or texting on your cell? Wow, that’s a big one!

One minister asked his congregation, “But why are you doing it? What does it mean?”  He was hoping for some impressive spiritual motive. “Judging from their answers,” he says, “I’m guessing the closest they come to any spiritual goal is guilt. The desire to share in Jesus’ suffering.”

“I know it’s supposed to make me think about God,” one lady said, “But, to be honest, it doesn’t always.”

This much I can assure you: If you give up something you really like for 40 days, you’ll really look forward to Easter!

Sometime back a young man put his soul up for sale on eBay, starting the bidding at 5 cents. Adam Burtle, a University of Washington student, sold his soul for $400 before the listing was removed and he was suspended from the site. “Please realize,” he added,“I make no warranties as to the condition of the soul. As of now, it is in near mint condition, with only minor scratches. Due to difficulties involved with removing my soul, the winning bidder will have to wait until my natural death.’’ Adam later said that “He didn’t intend for the ad to be taken seriously. I was just bored.”

My guess is that over the centuries many people have sold their soul simply and solely because they were bored. Talk about a bad bargain.

Many people in this world live as if this is only a material world, and they have either forgotten or do not believe that there is a spiritual side to our universe.

We are more than material beings. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. In other words, we have a soul. Or better yet, we are a soul.

Many have searched to find a spot in the body which they could identify as the soul. It is fruitless. You will find the soul in the same place you find love, hope, peace, joy and a host of other positive emotions. We know they exist. Just because we cannot see love, for example, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. We know it exists. We’ve seen love in action. And just because you cannot find a physical location for the soul within our body does not mean it does not exist.

This is more than a material world. We are more than simply material creatures. We have a soul, a soul that, by the grace of God, even survives the grave. And so, Jesus says, take care of your soul. If your soul is all that survives you after death, you ought to take care of it. Our soul is who we really are.