"But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'" (Luke 12:20)

When John Reynoso escaped from the State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, Iowa, he did not take into account that his mother would turn him in. "Prison officials," said Mrs. Reynoso, "escorted my son back to the Penitentiary twenty four hours after his escape." What is truly sad about this situation is that John Reynoso had only twenty-three days left to serve when he fled from a work detail. He now faces an additional five years for his escape.

One might say, "What a fool that man was, risking five years for twenty-three days." Nevertheless, consider how many risk eternal life for that which is infinitely shorter. Many risk the glorious mansions of heaven for "the pleasures of sin for a season." Some would rather "sleep in" on Sunday mornings than worship God as He commanded.

Let us not trade eternal life for "satisfying our own selfish desires." Let us faithfully serve God that we might escape eternal damnation.