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There, on the other side, is my solitary soul
(J. C. Philpot, "New Years' Addresses")
"For what is a man profited, if he shall gains the
whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what can
a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mt. 16:26
Here is my scale of profit and loss.
I have a soul to be saved or lost.
What then shall I give in exchange for my soul?
What am I profited if I gain the
whole world and lose my soul?
This deep conviction of a soul to be saved
or lost, lies at the root of all our religion.
Here, on one side, is the WORLD and all . . .
its profits
its pleasures,
its charms,
its smiles,
its winning ways,
its comforts,
its luxuries,
its honors,
to gain which is the grand struggle of human life.
There, on the other side, is my solitary SOUL,
to live after death, forever and ever, when the
world and all its pleasures and profits will sink
under the wrath of the Almighty.
And this dear soul of mine, my very self, my
only self, my all, must be lost or saved.
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