A Committed Soul

Man! Woman! thou hast a soul committed to thee, what hast thou done with it? To whom it was offered, to God or to Satan? How was it employed, in the service of sin or in the service of Christ? There is a day coming, and it will be a very solemn and awful day, when we must give an account of our stewardship (Luke 16:2), give an account of our souls: now, if by an active obedient faith we commit it to Jesus Christ, we may be sure he is able to keep it, and it shall be forthcoming to our comfort in that day, Matthew Henry, Acts to Revelation, Volume 6, page 673.  

What, pray tell, does commitment mean to you, dear one? 

The thought of being entrusted with a soul is startling, and yet parents are given this responsibility immediately, when a babe begins to grow and take shape and form in the womb. It is the irresponsible parent that does not consider the impact he or she has, on their God given fledgling, when they do not comprehend the magnitude of their parental accountability. Souls reside in bodies, and we are encoded with eternity, inescapable immortality. We are mortal in our shell and prone to dying and death, but the soul does not die when the flesh gives up the ghost - forever is real, and fear of death is real, especially for those that decide God isn't the one they owe an explanation, or accounting, for the way they have conducted their life. 

Man! Woman! what have you done with your soul? 

Man! Woman! to whom did you offer your soul, to God, or to Satan?

Man! Woman! how was your soul employed? Did you serve sin or did you serve Christ?

There is a one or other situation with the soul. God and Satan are not equally powerful, since Lucifer was one of God's magnificent creatures, crafted to glorify God, just like you and I are designed to glorify God; but it can feel like a tug of war with Satan pulling hard, to yank us in his direction, at many a turn. Temptation to indulge the flesh is strong, and when we give in, we have failed the test, and this means we have dented, bruised, and damaged our soul, offending the God that made us, and commissioned us to keep from cruelly self-abusing our own being. 

You, dear one, are the steward of your own soul There is magnitude in this statement. There is importance in the message that you are in charge of the directing of your own soul. Your parents were in charge of bringing you up in the admonishment of the Lord:

And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). 

Once the parenting is complete, the child chooses, and this can happen a little too early for some, meaning, we can see waywardness in a child that is obstinate and disobedient, when they are quite young. Prayer is a powerful course correcting tool to engage, when a parent is troubled by the direction their child seems to be taking... nurture and admonish, these two things go together, to equip a little one with the understanding that yes, God loves you, and... he does not approve of sin. 

Man! Woman! yes, God loves you, but he does not approve of your sin, your sinful wanton ways, your disobedient denial of the stewardship of your own soul. 

Man! Woman! you will give an account, and it will be a solemn, serious day, when you are asked, What service did you with your soul? Did you serve Christ, or Satan?

If you are not a Christian, I boldly proclaim, you do not live for God, but rather, you live for yourself, and this means you serve Satan with your soul; alternatively, by an active obedient faith we commit it to Jesus Christ, we may be sure he is able to keep it, and it shall be forthcoming to our comfort in that day.

You are a committed soul, dear one. You have committed yourself by what you think, what you say, and what you do. It is evident to God to whom you have committed yourself, and I ask, Is it evident to you at this point in your life? By not committing to Jesus, living to glorify his name, and living according to his Way, Do you comprehend that you are making a soul commitment to serving, and dying, for Satan? 

Your immortal soul will go to heaven or to hell. Christian's are commissioned to speak gospel truth, and I pray you not only hear truth as you read this but that it is absorbed into every fibre of your being, so that you can see how valuable you are to God, how beautifully designed and delightfully prepared, to love him, serve him, commit your all to him, and worship him as one of his precious creatures, and as your Father in heaven. 

By the mercy of God we are saved; we cannot work our way into his presence, but we sure can steward what he gave us in a saintly, godly fashion, to make him proud of us as his children. Humanity is by design, made in the image of God, and there are some children that receive admonishment, and duly course correct, as they are nurtured in the ways of the Lord; there are many more, that are froward, and go the way of the Devil. 

Which kind of child, are you?

Jesus Christ is able to keep you and comfort you in the solemn day of the Lord. I pray you commit your soul to his stewardship, and live a holy and blameless life, until the day anticipated.