Endangered Souls

Bible Reading: James 5:19-20

Theo carefully hung a poster on his bedroom wall. He stepped back to look at it. “EXTINCTION IS FOREVER! SAVE YOUR PLANET NOW!” it said, the large letters looming out at him. Then he ran down the stairs, two steps at a time.

“Whoa, Theo! Slow down! Where are you going, and what do you have in that box?” asked Dad.

“These are the calendars we’re selling for our school project,” replied Theo. “Each month has a picture of an endangered animal. The money we make is going to help with research on ways people can take better care of the earth. Lots of animals and plants are already extinct—they don’t exist anymore. We want to keep that from happening to more.” He opened the box. “How many do you want?” he asked eagerly.

“I’ll take two,” said Dad. He smiled. “I’m proud of you, Theo. It’s important to take good care of the earth God has given us.” Then he sighed. “Though it’s too bad we often forget what’s in the greatest danger of all.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Theo. “The rainforests?”

Dad shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking of animals or the environment. I was thinking of people’s souls. Anyone who dies rejecting Jesus will experience something much worse than extinction—they’ll face eternal punishment in hell. It’s good to be concerned about saving the earth, but we should be even more concerned about saving people.”

“I never thought about that,” said Theo. He frowned. “But I can’t make people become Christians!”

“No,” said Dad. “But think about your earth project, Theo—are you able to keep people from doing things that destroy the earth?”

“Well, no,” said Theo. “But I can raise awareness about what’s happening to the earth so they know about it. Then hopefully they’ll decide to change.”

“Right,” said Dad. “And that’s what we need to do for people who don’t know Jesus. We can’t make them become Christians, but we can tell them what Jesus did for them, pray for them, and show them God’s love through our actions. Then hopefully they’ll decide they want to trust in Jesus too.”

-Linda E. Knight

How About You?

Are you concerned about our planet? Everyone needs to do their part to take care of God’s creation. But what about the people you know who don’t know Jesus—are you concerned about their souls? Humans are God’s greatest creation, and Jesus became human Himself to take the punishment for our sins on the cross so we could be saved. Trust Him to help you share the good news of His love with others.

Today’s Key Verse: Mark 16:15 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Tell others about Jesus