How is it with your soul?
Losing your soul before you die
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.—Matthew16.24-27 (NIV)
Deny. Take up. Follow.
These are “doing” words—things to act on to follow Jesus.
Save. Lose. Gain the world—forfeit the soul /lose your life.
These are consequences of our choices.
Whatever you know of Jesus, you know enough to make a choice.
Jesus doesn’t mince words. He is clear. No waffling. Simply staying in our heads and responding, “How interesting” misses Jesus call to follow him. Finding Jesus merely interesting is to allow gaining the world habits to creep in and dominate our lives.
Forfeit the soul is about now, primarily not about after we die. The Hebrew word for soul (nephesh) It is translated in various ways in Scripture as life or being. The word group includes breath, spirit, wind (ruach) and mind/life/soul (psuche) which the word psychology is derived. It is what animates the body. The Hebrew concept is far from Greek philosophy which has soul as an immaterial force. Greek philosophy comparmentalizes us as humans and As Roland Rolheiser points out in his excellent work, Holy Longing, “Soul is not something you have, it’s who you are.” It is about being—the essence of who we are. Hence, when Ezekiel says, “The soul who sins will die” he is, saying the life/persons who sins will cease to live (Ezekiel 18.2).
When Jesus defines the Great Commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with you mind” (Mt 22.37) he is simply saying love God with your whole being—with every breath you breathe. It is an idiom for wholeness—your very life!
What happens now with your life choices has eternal consquences. It’s a matter of focus. Jesus addresses this in the parable of the Rich Fool (Lk 12.13-21). There’s a domestic dispute between two brothers over inheritance. They want Jesus to decide. Instead, Jesus deals with the present reality—greed, “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then, he told them the parable how a rich man who spent his time for himself tearing down his barns and building bigger ones. He calls him a “Fool” saying, “Tonight your very soul/life will be required/demanded of you.”
There’s nothing more pitiful that dying before you die. Landon Saunders said, “There’s nothing quite as sick as being sick of yourself.” Yup! It doesn’t have to be that way. Choosing Jesus and investing in what will outlive you is a good start.
You can change. Life can be different. You can do it.
Let’s follow Jesus with everything we have and are.
Is it well with your soul—you very life?