Don Fredenburg
Jim Tucker
H.E. 'Hub' Bowen
Mike Coble
Ron Bowen1/12/2019
What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? —
Matthew 16:26
Who would ever dream of amputating his own leg? Nobody—unless that person had lost his mind or was faced with the grim choice of losing either his leg or his life.
That was Bill Jeracki's terrible predicament, according to The Denver Post, when he was out fishing all alone in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. He was trapped when a boulder fell on his leg, and he was unable to free himself.
Knowing that as night came on he might die of exposure, Bill did what he knew he had to do. Relying on his skill as an assistant to a doctor at a Denver hospital, he took a nylon rope out of his tackle box, tied it tightly above his knee, and cut off his leg with his knife. He then dragged himself to his car and drove 10 miles to the nearest town. He not only survived the trauma, but with an artificial limb he is out fishing again.
What a decision—your leg or your life! But what if the stakes were even higher? Suppose you had to choose between giving up some habit, ambition, or relationship, and giving up heaven. The Lord made the issue of following Him that decisive. He said, "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mt.16:26). It's a question you and I must answer.
By Vernon Grounds
