Alistair Begg Devotional Endless Profit

Endless Profit

Endless Profit

Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

Jesus was an expert at asking questions—especially the sort of questions that made people stop in their tracks and pay attention. When we are confronted with Jesus’ questions, as the disciples were here, we must be careful not to sidestep their intended effect.

At first glance, Jesus’ question regarding material gain at the expense of our souls might be understood primarily as a warning of impending punishment on the selfish individual. We’re tempted to read Jesus’ question in a way that likens Him to a mother who says to her child, “Now, if you don’t share with your sister, you know what’ll happen!” But this particular question is more along the lines of an observation. Jesus is pointing out what happens when we orient our lives and decisions around our own sinful longings—around our possessions, our accomplishments, our desired identity. To live in such a way, He says, is to forfeit your very life.

The loss of life of which Jesus is speaking here is therefore both immediate and eternal. If we regard life as nothing more than what we can get out of it for ourselves, we actually miss out on its greatest joys; we end up merely existing, not actually living. Furthermore, when we place ourselves on the throne of our life, we remove Jesus from His rightful place and affirm the reality that by nature we prefer to pursue the world rather than to forsake our desires in pursuit of Christ. If we continue in this way, we will forfeit the gift of eternal life that He loves to give to His subjects.

So how are we to combat worldly desires in the here and now? First, we must recognize that, as the 17th-century mathematician and theologian Blaise Pascal put it, we have a God-shaped hole at the deepest level of our being, and nothing can fill this void save God Himself. We exist not to pursue fleeting pleasures but to enjoy relationship with the living God. Then second, we must continually reflect on the value of our souls as evidenced in the cruel scene outside Jerusalem where the sinless Christ hung on a cross—despised, rejected, pierced, scarred, and scorned—so that we might be brought into right relationship with God and freely receive eternal life. Jesus’ sacrifice reveals how much the eternal destiny of our souls matters to God.

Following Jesus as your rescuer and your King and acknowledging His worth above any earthly treasure is not a momentary decision; it is a lifetime commitment that is lived out each day. If you are prepared to come to His cross daily, humbly confess who He is, and give up your life—your preferences, your comfort, your wealth—then your profit will know no end, now and for all of eternity. We could do far worse than asking ourselves the question at the start of each day that Jesus asked His disciples on the road that day: What will it profit me if I gain the whole world and forfeit my soul?

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say yJohn the Baptist, others say zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, a“You are bthe Christ, cthe Son of dthe living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, e“Blessed are you, fSimon Bar-Jonah! For gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, hbut my Father who is in heaven. 18And I tell you, iyou are Peter, and jon this rock2 I will build my church, and kthe gates of lhell3 shall not prevail against it. 19I will give you mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and nwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed4 in heaven.” 20oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that qhe must go to Jerusalem and rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on sthe third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!5 This shall never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ua hindrance6 to me. For you vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him wdeny himself and xtake up his cross and follow me. 25For xwhoever would save his life7 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? 27aFor the Son of Man is going to come with bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done.

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Footnotes
2 16:18 The Greek words for Peter and rock sound similar
3 16:18 Greek the gates of Hades
4 16:19 Or shall have been bound…; shall have been loosed
5 16:22 Or “[May God be] merciful to you, Lord!”
6 16:23 Greek stumbling block
7 16:25 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and twice in verse 26

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.

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