"Behold, all souls are mine."
Ezekiel 18:4

What reason do we have to rejoice? We may rejoice for our souls belong to the Lord God. ALL souls are mine. There is not a single one that Yahweh doesn't claim as being in his possession. This is a statement that should evoke great joy in the hearts and souls of believers, for they are in the grip of their Maker. If we had ultimate control and possession of our own souls we would be without any hope, without any joy, without any assurance, and without any salvation. Our souls were dead. But God made us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13). Our souls were lost. But the Great Shepherd left the flock to find us. (Luke 15:4-5). Our souls were left for dead, wallowing in our own blood. But the Lord passed by and said to us "Live!" (Ezekiel 16:6). Our souls would sink back into death the second after our conversion. But the Comforter is our seal of promise and guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:22) and the Lord is strong enough to "keep us from stumbling and present us blameless before his presence with great joy." (Jude 24).

For all these reasons we may rejoice. Our God is great and greatly to be praised. "Salvation belongs to the Lord!" (Jonah 2:9) He is the Author and Finisher of our soul's faith. (Hebrews 12:2) We have every reason in the world to celebrate the fact that our souls are not our own! And we, as Christians, have reason to rejoice that the person across the coffee shop from us don't have ultimate control of their own soul either. For the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and loving. He has "no pleasure in the death of anyone." He is mighty to save. He is all-powerful. He is capable of raising their dead souls to life. He alone has the breathe of life they so desperately need. And he is constantly breathing this breath into the souls of lost sheep and prodigal sons. Therefore, there is no reason to fear the results of our testimony. There is no reason to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, "for it is the power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16) Speak it boldly, with no reserve, knowing that the Lord is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9) and that it is his place, his joy, and for his name that he may choose to work in the hearts of the unbeliever who hears the Gospel message by your words.

May we continually learn that our souls are not our own, ultimately, and that, in turn, we should make sure to commit them to Christ, the one who ransomed us and bought us with a price, making it even more clear that "[we] are not [our] own." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Amen.