There was once a business man who was teaching a class of high-achieving students. And he demonstrated the following illustration:

He took a bucket and filled it up with as many fist-size rocks as he could. And asked the students, is the bucket full now? Everyone thought that it was full so they said yes, but the man shook his head and started pouring gravel into the bucket. He poured and shook the bucket until it was full of gravel, and then asked the students, is the bucket full now? They were beginning to catch on and some said no.

So the man now started pouring sand into the bucket, he poured and shook that sand until every crack and crevice was filled and the sand began to overflow the sides of the bucket. Now he asked them, is the bucket full. Surely they all thought that yes, It was full! But no, he again shook his head, now he started to pour water into the bucket, he slowly continued to pour until water started to overflow the edges of the bucket. Now is the bucket full? Yes it is completely full.

But what was the purpose of the exercise?

What does the bucket represent? And what are the rocks,gravel,sand and water that is put into it?

The Bucket represents our life, and the rocks, gravel, sand and water are the things that we do.

What is a rock in your life? What is a pebble? Or what about things of lesser importance like a grain of sand.

What do you think would happen if that man had have filled the bucket up with sand and water to start with? He wouldn't have been able to get the larger rocks in at all.

And it is the same with our lives, if we don't make sure the most important things in our life are being done, then they won't be done at all. And our lives tend to become so busy and crowded with so many things that we can easily lose sight of what is most important.

Perhaps you may become so busy as to not make time to look after your health properly, and so you become sick. Perhaps spending quality time with family is a large rock in your life.

But there is one rock that is of greater importance than anything else.

Do you think that if there was something we could do that would decide our eternal destiny, that we should make this the highest priority in our life? Do you think anything else should be of greater importance?

Jesus asked this question:

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Ask yourself the same question, what does it profit us if we gain everything in this world but we are lost for eternity?

The Bible says in Matthew 13:45-46

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

The kingdom of heaven is more valuable to us than anything we could imagine! Being with Jesus for eternity is the most wonderful and inspiring thing to think about!

"Christ calls upon every one to consider. Make an honest reckoning. Put into one scale Jesus, which means eternal treasure, life, truth, heaven, and the joy of Christ in souls redeemed; put into the other every attraction the world can offer. Into one scale put the loss of your own soul, and the souls of those whom you might have been instrumental in saving; into the other, for yourself and for them, a life that measures with the life of God. Weigh for time and for eternity. While you are thus engaged, Christ speaks: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36. Christ's Object Lessons 374"

So lets purpose in our life to spend some time each day to get the largest rock in our life. To take some time getting to see the wonderful love of God in His word, to study Bible and to gain the strength that we need to stay with Jesus throughout the day.