How valuable is a single soul? How much time is it worth? …time talking with others about Jesus? …time inviting people to our assembly? …time engaging in personal Bible studies?

How much effort is it worth? …effort equipping ourselves to teach others? …effort getting outside of our comfort zone to talk to others about the gospel? …effort reaching out to our friends and neighbors?

How much money is it worth? …money supporting evangelists? …money for teaching materials? …money for business cards or advertisements?

A single soul has been created in God’s image (Gen 1:27). It has the capacity to reflect His glory and bring praise to His name. It has the ability to bring abundant joy to the Lord and His angels in heaven (Luke 15:4-7).

Jesus tells us that a single soul is worth more than the whole world. He asked His disciples the rhetorical question, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). All the treasures this world has to offer are temporal and will one day fade away. Souls are eternal and their value will never diminish.

Jesus shows us that a single soul is worth the greatest treasure heaven has to offer—His own blood. Jesus left His home in heaven, emptied Himself of His equality with God, and became a lowly bondservant here on earth (Php 2:5-8). He ultimately shed His precious blood upon the cross to purchase the souls of men out of the bondage of sin (1 Pet 1:18-19).

If we want to know how valuable a single soul is to God, we simply need to look at the cross. The question is, how valuable is a single soul to us? What are we willing to sacrifice to share the gospel with it? How far are we willing to get outside our comfort zone for it? How hard are we willing to work for it? How greatly do we rejoice at its salvation? Let us learn to value each and every soul the way God does.