The Value of a Soul, Part 2

Introduction:

To say that Jay Carty is an unusual communicator is a mild statement, maybe a little nuts would be more accurate. Not a preacher, not a teacher, more a storyteller would with a very important message. Where some deep preachers are too snoozy for the rank and file and where some humorists don’t have much to say, Jay’s stuff is generally regarded as an unusual blending of humor and profound content. A former Oregon State basketball star and L. A. Laker, Jay has dedicated himself to helping people say “yes” to God. Now, we hope you enjoy Carty’s Contemporary Classics.

Jay: As luck that happened, the value of a soul will collide with the truth, the nice people that we would be right now.  If those two concepts would collide, your life would never be the same.

In the San Joaquín valley four years ago, there were four men in an airplane, one was a non-believer. The plane crashed and the three Christians were killed. The non-believer survived and became a Christian as a result of surviving. When my friend went to the guy’s wife who was flying the plane, “How are you doing?” She said, “I hurt like you can’t believe. I grieve of the death of grief that words can’t express. I’m lonely beyond words” She shocked me when she said, “But, it was worth it. Wasn’t it?” She had a perspective on the value of a soul that goes beyond anything I can grasp.

My daughter was a missionary in Cameroon, West Africa and my little three-year-old granddaughter got malaria three times in nine months before we could get them out of there. And I was not prepared to trade my granddaughter for some Africans in Cameroon that I won’t meet this side of glory. I’m just telling you, I’m not there yet. But I’m getting there because I’m starting to get a grasp of the value of a soul. As my life winds past midpoint, I’m committed to finishing well.

A lot of folks didn’t. You know, like David? It took the senses to see how great he was and used a virgin to keep him warm. Why not a hot rock? Hmm? Why a virgin? What was his problem in the middle of his life? Ladies, I submit to you that I think David finished life as a dirty old man. And she stayed a virgin because he was too old to do anything about it. It’s a different approach, isn’t it? Just look at the facts, he took the census to see how great he was and he used a young virgin to keep him warm. Sounds like a dirty old man to me. Especially, when you look at how Solomon and his son finished his life. A thousand women in his life, three hundred wives, seven hundred concubines. Idols came back into the land. Wrote the book of wisdom and finished terribly.

And poor old Moses, second rock calling contest. Instead of calling water out of a rock, he hit it and dishonored God with his anger and then took a little credit for the miracle. Siphoned off a little glory, “Look at what we did.” And God said, “Well, you’ve wandered forty years, but you know you can’t dishonor me like that. Go out and take a look at what you missed and die.” He didn’t finish well. Don’t you want to finish well? Let me tell you how to finish well. Change your perspective of the value of a soul and use your work as the vehicle to finance your ministry. And if it’s for social action, it’s to bring people to Christ. If it’s evangelism it’s to bring people to … Whatever your passion is, it’s to show people the savior, because what has more value than a soul? Anything? You earn the right to throw your friend out of the boat. When you earn the right to throw your friend out of the boat, they’re not a notch on your spiritual pistol. Because you want to spend eternity with them. That’s a whole different motive.

Let’s go to the forest, okay. It’s Christmas Eve and there’s a bunny hopping. It’s snowing and he loves to look at his tracks in the snow and he likes it. It’s a brown and white speckled bunny with one lopped ear and his name is Barrington. He’s the only bunny in the forest he knows and it’s Christmas Eve and he would like to be with somebody. He hops by the squirrel tree and there is a storm coming. The snow is starting to blow a little bit sideways. It’s going to be a blizzard, but he’s furry and warm and he can hop, he’ll be fine. “Hello squirrels, it’s me, Barrington bunny. Can I come to your party? Can I, huh, huh? Can I, huh, huh … please?”

Well, a squirrel opens the door. He says, “Sure, you can come to our party. We’d love to have you. Can you climb trees?” He says, “No, but I’m furry and warm and I can hop.” “Well, that’s great, I’m glad you can do that but if you can’t climb trees, you can’t even come to our party.”He said, “Oh, that’s right.” And he sniffed a bunny sniff that was kind of sad. “Sniff” “Merry Christmas”, he said. And he hopped but he didn’t look at his tracks.

He came to the beaver pond and the snow as going kind of sideways now, and they were having a party too. He said, “Beavers, hey it’s me. It’s Barrington Bunny, can I come to your party, huh? Can I, huh, huh? Can I, huh, huh, … please?” Well, a shiny little beaver head poked his head out of the water and said, “Sure, you can come to our party, we’d love to have you. Can you swim underwater?” He said, “Well no, but I’m furry and warm and I can hop.” He said, “Well that’s great, but if you can’t swim underwater, you can’t even get into our house, Bunny Barrington.” He said, “Oh, that’s right.” And a little trail of bunny tear ice traced down his little furry bunny cheek, because he cried a little bit. He was really sad. He said, “Merry Christmas.” And he hopped, and he didn’t look at his tracks.

And he came to the mouse house, field mouse. What’s more than one mouse? Mices, meeces, mooses? I don’t know. He says, “Hey can I just come to your party?” And the wind blew the words away and he hopped into the snow, and he grabbed his little furry bunny foot and he chewed on it and he cried. Because that’s what bunnies do when their really sad. They chew on their little bunny foots and then cry. He was alone, and he knew he was alone, but then he had that hinky little feeling that he wasn’t alone. And he opened his eyes, and in front of him was a silver tipped fur wolf with broad shoulders, yellow eyes that flash fire. The most magnificent animal that Barrington had ever seen. And the wolf said, “Barrington, why are you sitting here in the snow chewing on your bunny’s foot crying?” “I’m all alone and I don’t have anybody in the forest to be with this Christmas Eve, and I don’t have any family. I just want to be with someone.” The wolf said, “Barrington, all the animals in the forest are your family.” “What good is that? I’m just a crummy bunny. I can hop, I’m furry and warm. So, what? It’s not good for nothing, nobody.” Barrington, one day you’ll understand why it’s good to be furry and warm and hop. You’re a little young, you got to give it a little time, give it a chance.”

He closed his eyes just for a minute, he opened them, and the wolf was gone. But he got to thinking, “You know, all the animals in the forest are my family.” He dug around in the snow, it wasn’t easy because it was deep. He found some leaves and twigs and wrapped them together and put a little note to the squirrels: “Remember you’re family, Merry Christmas. I love you.” And he hopped over to the squirrel tree, and he left them where they would find them, and he dug into the snow and found a nice stick to the beavers. “Remember you’re family, Merry Christmas. I love you too.” And he left it where they’d find it. And he was just passed the mouse house and he heard a squeaky little sound. “Squeak, squeak, squeak.” There was a little field mouse that had left the house that morning when it was really nice, and he didn’t take his coat. And then there comes this storm, and now he’s stuck out in this whiteout snowstorm, no coat, freezing to death and he’s lost. And Barrington said, “Hello, it’s me, Barrington Bunny.” And the little mouse said, “Oh, I’m lost. I don’t know what to do. I’m freezing to death. I so cold. God, help me. I’m going to die. I don’t’ know what to do.” Barrington says, “Don’t worry about it, I’m a bunny. I’m furry and warm. I can hop. There’s no problem, I’ll be right there.” He came right up next to the mouse. He didn’t sit on the mouse, he sat right next to the mouse and then he grabbed his soft tummy fur. You know how bunnies have that soft tummy fur? And you know, he pulled up that soft tummy fur and he said, “Here, crawl under here and you’ll be safe.” And how long do you think that little mouse thought about that? He just went – swoosh, right there, and he put the tummy fur around him, and he nuzzled him. Like that, you know? And he felt the little mouse start to – breathing noises and heart beating fast – then slowing and calming down – calm yawns. The little mouse fell asleep under the warm bunny in the middle of a snowstorm. Mom and Dad field mouse did not sleep well, son wasn’t home. No open packages, what’s the point? Son wasn’t home. They prayed somehow could their son survive? Could we have a still morning with the bright shining sun with pristine silence and fresh ice crystals and could we find him please? And it was that kind of morning, and they found him.

They opened packages in a whole new way, folks. You can’t blame them for not noticing the little frozen carcass that was there. There was a brown and white speckled little flop eared bunny named Barrington, that froze to death in the snow that night. You can’t blame them for not noticing. Their son was alive. The squirrels they don’t know who gave them those twigs and leaves, and I’m telling you, to this very day, this very day – the beavers don’t know who in that family that gave them that nice stick. But if you’d been looking right there, where the trees end and the meadow begins that Christmas morning, you would have seen a wolf emerge from the forest, broad shouldered, silver tipped fur, yellow eyes that flash of fire, magnificent animal. And he put the first tracks in the snow as he walked over to that little frozen carcass of a furry, lop eared, brown and white bunny and he sat and he kept watch all day until it was dark. Then he stood and he disappeared in the forest.

The wolf would be God, of course. The bunny would be Christ. The mouse is you. Christ didn’t just come over and sit on you. No, he lifts up that soft tummy fur called his shed blood and he says, “Here, crawl under here and you can be safe.” So, you get to make that decision. He offers you the safety, but you have to take it.

Let’s pray. Father, for those who are here who know that they’re lost, Christ is there to find them. If they would submit to his leadership and agree, “I don’t want to be my own God anymore. I want God to be my God and I want Christ to introduce me to that God. I intend to follow him.” If that’s your prayer, you’re all set. I pray that you pray it, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you crawled under the blood of Christ tonight, I have a book for you. You’re just going to raise your hand. I’m just going to start on this side, start on the other side on that last one. I’ll go over here. I’m going to be the peanut vendor in the coliseums and see how far I can throw books. If you prayed that prayer, invited Christ into your life, crawled under the safety of his shed blood, you’re in that section, raise your hand for me. Anybody? See, now you’re all embarrassed for me. You’re sitting there, and you’re saying “Oh, I just want someone to raise their hand for Jay.” D. L. Moody was walking down the streets of Chicago, and a drunk in the gutter said, “D. L. Moody, you saved me five years ago.” Right? And Moody looked at him and said, “Yeah, you look like one of my converts not one of the Lord’s.” So, don’t raise your hand for old Jay. Old Jay was faithful and telling a story. You just need to respond to the Spirit of God and respond if that’s what you need to do.