I encourage you to consider your soul
The human soul is almost never spoken of by the world. The media, public education, public health, and social media seem to have wished the soul into non-existence with their silence on the matter. However, God is not so easily silenced on this critical component of life.
Instinctively, we humans get hung up acquiring stuff. Accumulating things which we think will somehow benefit us and our descendants forever. Thankfully, Jesus correctly prioritised the value of stuff compared to the soul when He asked; “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Your soul is of infinitely greater value to God than any amount of money or possessions that you may accumulate in this short earthly life. The fact is; there is nothing in this world capable of securing a reservation for the eternal soul we possess.
Jesus Christ alone has paid the price on the cross of Calvary by purchasing the forgiveness required to set our souls free from the death penalty our independence and sins demand. The apostle Peter says that by believing in Jesus, you are “obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9).
Soul Grown Belief
Belief goes like this; a repentant sinner turns to Jesus and attaches their affection wholly on the Lord. It’s as Jesus explained to the lawyer attempting to trick him; “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Turning your life to live for Christ begins with the surrender of Heart, soul, and mind, to loving the Lord before all else. Faith engages our entire being for the purpose of living out the spiritual expressions of worship for which we were created.
Jesus warned that we should “not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Obviously, the soul is eternal, whereas the physical body is mortal and finite. Yet God has ultimate control over the destiny of both. Therefore, He is worthy of our utmost reverence as the one who oversees the course of our souls.
The apostle John recognised that at an earthy level, physical health is of no greater value than the soul. He prayed; “that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul” (3 John 1:2). John’s point is profoundly simple, yet easily missed. For the believer in Jesus Christ, the spiritual health of the soul sets the benchmark by which all other wellness in life is measured. The greatest events of life, even our emotional and physical health at their very best, can only ever achieve second place to the condition of our regenerated souls in Jesus Christ.
Faith recognises the importance of helping others to let the Lord cleanse their souls also. Evidence of an authentic faith is that “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22). Christians love others because their own souls have been purified by Christ. The challenge is to prevent our fleshly weaknesses from contaminating that which Christ has purified.
Today, I encourage you to consider your soul, and the souls of those you rub shoulders with.