NOVEMBER 17,  Mark 8:36

CRASH! The sound of shattering glass echoed through the house. Both Randy and his mother ran into the kitchen. “Oh, Jennifer! My new vase!” Mom exclaimed when they saw the little girl looking in dismay at the pieces of a glass vase scattered all over the floor. “I didn’t mean to drop it,” Jennifer sobbed. “It slid right out of my hands.”

Mom nodded. “I see that,” she said. “Right now, I want you to go wait in your room before you get cut on this glass. I’ll be there to talk to you in a minute, but first I need to clean up this mess.” So Jennifer sadly went to her room while Mom picked up the biggest pieces of broken glass and Randy got the broom and dustpan.

“Jennifer should have known better than to touch the vase,” said Randy with a frown, “but since she picked it up, she should have hung on tight and not let it slip out of her hands. It’s pretty valuable, isn’t it? I mean… it was.”

“Well, not so very,” said Mom, “though I liked it.” She looked thoughtful. “Speaking of letting it slip away reminds me of the most valuable thing anyone has, but many people let it slip away,” she added. “Any idea what that would be?”

“Ah… I’m sure you’re not going to say it’s money or a house or jewelry,” said Randy slowly, trying to think of the right answer as he spoke. “Us kids, maybe? Or just any family members?”

“That’s a good answer,” said Mom, “but I was thinking of our souls. People think so little about them and are so careless with them. Do you remember the story Jesus told of the rich man who was interested only in having a good time and plenty of food?” Randy nodded. “God called him a fool, didn’t He?”

“Yes. That rich man provided for his life on earth but took no thought of what would happen to his soul when he died,” replied Mom. “Many people still make the same mistake and let their souls slip into eternity without God. Making sure you’ll go to heaven is the most important thing you can do.”

Thought: Are you concerned about your soul? Handle with care!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me that having the whole world is worth nothing if my soul is lost. So please teach me to handle the most important thing – my soul – with greatest care and help me make sure I will spend eternity in heaven. In Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen.