Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 14
February 28, 1963
NUMBER 42, PAGE 2

Life's Greatest Tragedy

J. R. Snell

The dictionary defines the term tragedy as "a catastrophe involving death or calamity or suffering." This is a thing about which we have, for the most part, just a passing acquaintance. Thankfully, most never suffer tragedy as we generally accept it. The news mediums of the day give widespread notoriety to events of common interest which may be so classed. Invariably a sympathetic bond is formed between us and the victims of such.

Surprisingly, however, the greatest tragedy of all receives little notoriety. I speak of the loss of the soul. To give serious consideration to what is involved in salvation is to have our appreciation enriched regarding what it means to be lost. To be lost is to die spiritually, to be destroyed, ruined for all eternity. To the end that men might not be lost, Christ came into the world "to seek and to save." (Luke 19:10) Satan, the great destroyer, is bent upon thwarting this purpose. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet. 5:8)

What does it mean to be lost? It means I have failed in the purpose for which I entered the world. Life is more than mere aimless existence. Man, created a living soul, is God's masterpiece, given domination over all. He is a creature of dignity, possessed of eternal value. Every life has a purpose. Man is a part of the eternal scheme of God. Life and death are essential to the consummation of this scheme, for without life and death eternity could not begin. Life is the schoolroom for eternity, the proving ground of the soul. It is in life that men must lay "up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life." (1 Tim. 6:19) To be lost is to have failed in this.

To be lost is to disappoint those who love me. The God who created and conceived of the plan by which I might share eternity with him. The Christ, my Savior, who died in my stead thereby executing the divine plan of redemption. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) Those loved ones who have made an investment In me and my well being. The greatest disappointment in life is unquestionably the realization that a loved one has met death unprepared for eternity. One of the lessons apparent from the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is that though our loved ones are lost, they want no company in torment. To be lost is to be a disappointment.

To be lost means that true happiness can never be mine. Heaven alone can afford true happiness. It is difficult to conceive of a place devoid of everything which might bring unhappiness. Heaven is such a place, where there is no pain, sin, suffering and death. A place of perfect bliss. True happiness can never be mine until I go there.

To be lost means I will be ruined eternally. Hell is terrible, beyond imagination. The human mind shrinks from the very thought. It was too terrible for man, originally prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 24:41) Even so, when we share the nature of the devil, we must share his fate. An eternity which offers misery, shame and torment. If I am lost my life is wasted, regardless of the number of deeds and titles accumulated. I have only one true possession. If I squander life's opportunities and responsibilities, I squander my soul, my only real possession.

Whom can I blame if I am lost? Only myself. God's grace is sufficient. Salvation as far as I am concerned and even as far as you are concerned rests entirely with each of us. To obey God's will is to be saved, to fail to do so is to be lost. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." (Heb. 5:8-9) Will you be saved — or lost?

— Butler, Missouri