The Exchange

From the Desk of David Boyd, National BGMC Director

We’ll call him Sam. He was a friend. He was a great Christian, husband, and father to a pack of kids. God was giving him success at work and great influence at church. He was a great Sunday School teacher, able to inspire other adults to greater things in God.

However, as the years went along, his success at work grew greater and greater. Soon he accepted a job traveling the country—living a life of expensive hotels, food, and entertainment. Coming home probably began to seem mundane. Normal life at home couldn’t compare to the euphoria of the travel and the respect he commanded in his company. The day came when he left home for good, leaving his wife, his children, his church, and his faith behind.

Matthew 16:26 says, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?” The verses immediately preceding this read: “Deny [yourself] and take up your cross and follow [Jesus]. . . . Whoever loses his life for me, will find it.”

In today’s culture, it is easier than ever for Christians to find themselves resisting any measure of commitment to the body of Christ through service. Any type of denying oneself is resisted; it does not fit with the “me” culture that we live in. Yet Jesus clearly states that Christians must deny themselves. Christians must pick up their cross. Christians must be willing to “lose” part of their lives for Christ. In doing so, they will be “finding their lives” in Him.

I pray for Sam. I know that God’s grace can work on his spirit and bring him home. Yet I also recognize the clear example of someone who gained so much in life but lost his soul. Let’s be people who give, who serve, and who put Christ first in our lives.