THE NOBLEST WORK—SOUL-WINNING
The noblest, greatest work in which man can engage is winning souls for the kingdom of God. There are many kinds of work which are good in themselves and which merit reward. It is a good deed to give food to a hungry child. It is commendable to visit the sick and to minister to their necessities. Supplying fuel to a helpless widow in her poverty is a praiseworthy act. Some good works are more excellent than others, but all are to be respected, and the doers thereof will surely be rewarded either in this life or in the life to come. However, there is one work that transcends all others, both in the reward given and in real intrinsic value. That work is winning souls to the service of God, and helping them to gain eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Why is this the greatest of all good works?—It is because man, created by God, made and fashioned in the image of his Maker, capable of a development which makes him superior to any earthly thing, is of priceless value in the sight of heaven. THE GREAT PRICE THAT WAS PAID
Nothing proves the great worth of man in the estimation of his Maker more than the price God was willing to pay for man's salvation. The wonderful statement, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," shows the price that God volunteered to pay for man's salvation. In the parables of the lost pieces of silver and the lost sheep, Christ showed how heaven looks upon man, no matter how deep in sin, or wandering how far from the fold. Surely nothing could speak more plainly of the value that God places on the lost than His infinite effort to redeem man and bring him back to God. "Lord, whence are these blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain's track?
They were shed for one who had gone astray,
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.
Lord, why are Thy hands so rent and torn?
They are pierced to-night by many a thorn."73 Speaking of the kingdom of heaven and of its worth to those who shall enter, our Saviour used the following language: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Matt. 13:44-46. The Bible speaks often of the value of souls. In the book of Proverbs, we are told by one who gave his heart to seek out wisdom, "He that winneth souls is wise." And the apostle James added these words, which have echoed down the ages, and have been read wherever the word of God has been preached: "He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Referring to His own great mission, Jesus said, "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." And to His disciples He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." The example of the life and work of the apostle to the Gentiles, who counted himself a "debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise," should lead the church to spend and to be spent, that souls may be born into the kingdom of God. Hear Paul's testimony concerning the worth of souls: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Rom. 9:1-3. It was a consuming zeal for soul-winning that burned in the heart of Paul, as, unwearied by continued labor, he journeyed from city to city, from country to country, as the ambassador of his King. THE PASSION FOR SOUL-WINNING
Men who have lived close to God have ever felt this passion for souls. Doddridge said: "I long for the conversion of souls more sensibly than for anything besides. Methinks I could not only labor but die for it with delight." Matthew Henry said, "I would think it a greater happiness to win one soul for Christ than to gain mountains of gold and silver for myself." It is said that Brainerd, a man seasoned in service and suffering for Christ, said of himself: "I cared not where or how I lived or what hardships I went through if only I could win souls to Christ. While I was asleep, I dreamed of these things; when I waked, my first thought was of this great work." The same consuming desire to win souls to Christ glowed in the hearts of such men as Wesley, Whitefield, Rowland Hill, Moody, and others who gave their all to bring sinners to Christ. The duty of soul-winning does not belong wholly to the ministry, though it must become their passion, but it rests also upon the entire church of Christ. To enlarge and extend the dominion of our Lord, and to gather into His fold those in bondage to sin, is the duty and it should be the privilege of every Christian. It must be the chief business of every converted soul. No zeal for anything else will take the place of winning souls to Christ. That should be, it must be, the great, supreme motive controlling the life. The reward is commensurate with the importance of the work. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Let us see to it that our labor is such as will endure the test of fire, spoken of by Paul; for "the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." And "if any man's work abide,"—such is the condition,—"he shall receive a reward."