Saturday, February 24
Scripture: Mark 8:31-38
Verse 36 has been a part of my life seemingly forever, but this version is not the way it is in my consciousness. For that version, I had to search my home for a King James Bible with the familiar verse “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” In a place where I protect my family memorabilia I found two – my mother’s well-worn and my more pristine one.
There are lots of descriptions of “soul,” but for me, it is my essence. Deep down, it is who I am…and I protect it. That verse has guided me as I was growing up and making choices – finding a way to earn money to go to college, deciding to go to college away from the D.C. area, choosing a major from the plethora of choices at Ohio State University, finding an exciting home in journalism school as city editor of the college newspaper, and then the job-seeking days of newspaper life.
Once in the workforce, though, we witness – and experience – siren calls to us and those around us. Ambition, fame, domination, glitz, greed, prestige, temptation, wealth…
If we build our life listening to Jesus and following his counsel we can be protected. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” gives us a framework…a brake sometimes…a “timeout” to think about what we are doing and why.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for this Lenten time, to dig into the tenets of our faith, to remind ourselves of its depth, and to feel the embrace of your love as we find our way through our lives, in exciting times and in challenging ones.
– Diana Morse