As we have discussed briefly before, humans are in many ways easily understood and in other ways quite complicated. When the complexities of body, mind, soul, and spirit are parsed – we are a complex network of emotion, thoughts, and heart. Somewhere in the middle of us is the core – our soul identities which are made in the image of our infinite Creator. Every century has contained men and women who strive to find meaning for our existence. We have many names for where this desire originates – but for us it seems that the soul is our connecting place with God.
Our souls are locked within our identity and will far eclipse our bodies or the events of our relatively brief existences or our allotted days. There are people who wish to think we will get to where we will live for hundreds of years, but this is both scientifically and philosophically unlikely. This is why the God Story teaches us to give attention to our souls. It is our identity for this life and the one that is coming – at least according to the words of the Living God who created us.
This chapter contemplates our spirituality which includes both our connectedness and disconnectedness from God. As we talk about in the Turbulence of Imperfection, we have been placed into a world of contrasts: our limited bodies and our never-ending souls. All of this is done to make us able to choose paths of honor rather than self-absorption. This is the nature of spirituality. It is a choice to honor Someone who is infinitely above and beyond us, but by His choice, deeply connected to us.
In this chapter Brent and Dave consider the Spirit man and how we attain to things which ultimately matter – things that make faith authentic and reveal the ultimate purpose of our destinies. This involves aspects of science, philosophy, and authentic faith. We attempt to sort through a non-religious, authentic, true faith that is “vibrating with life” as we are built up into a spiritual house.
“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:4-5
This is where we find our ultimate connectivity with God and also the fullness of our identities. The lives of faith we live as we head toward this destination are important, and explain the motivation for embracing a life of spirituality.
It is a huge part of making our lives count!
Dave & Burnadette