'Bringing it all Together'

 God in what we read, listen to, watch, meditate on, and fixate on. Jesus wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Our ‘strength’ is how we use our bodies; what we do and say. It is how we order our world, our familial relationships, and our workplaces. Jesus asks us to use our bodies to create, build, encourage, serve, and bless.

 Finally, we get to the ‘soul’. The soul can be mysterious. The very word elicits ethereal thoughts. What exactly is it? The soul is who we are - heart, mind, and body. It is the culmination of will, thoughts, feelings, work, and relationships; the essence of who a person is. It is the totality of who you are. Everyone has a soul, and all souls are different. Every person has their own decisions to decide, their own thoughts to think, and their own work to do. However, the question that applies to us all is, how is that working out? Is what that person decides, thinks, and does congruent? Are heart, mind, and body integrated? Not only that but is it congruent in the right way? Are they committing to the right things? Do they direct their thoughts toward what is good, true, and beautiful? Are their actions in alignment with what they have decided and what they have thought?

 Cars need to have their wheels aligned. If the wheels aren’t aligned, then the car will pull toward the ditch on the left or the ditch on the right. Misaligned tires make it hard to stay on the right road. We can tell how well aligned our souls are by reflecting on how easy or hard it is to stay on the straight and narrow. This is critically important since narrow is the road that leads to eternal life.

 John Wesley developed a movement of small groups. Every Methodist was expected to be in a weekly small group. The one question that was to be asked every time the small group of friends met was, ‘How is it with your soul?’ Well, how is it with your soul? Why don’t you meet with a couple friends over coffee and talk about it?

 In Christ,

Jonathan