A mere scratch of a pin

(J. C. Ryle)

"For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36

The loss of the soul is the heaviest loss that can befall a man. The worst and most painful of diseases; the most distressing bankruptcy of fortune; the most disastrous shipwrecks; are a mere scratch of a pin—compared to the loss of a soul. All other losses are bearable, or but for a short time, but the loss of the soul is forever! It is to lose God, and Christ, and heaven, and glory, and happiness—to all eternity. It is to be cast away forever, helpless and hopeless in hell!