A Soul with a Body

Pumpkins at Capitol Market

Philip Gulley, at his Convocation sermon at our church, quoted C.S. Lewis:  "You don't have a soul.  You
are a soul.  You have a body."  (As a sidenote, I don't think C.S. Lewis said that, but it's still a good thought.)

Think about that for a moment.  Too often, I think, we consider our spiritual lives to be something separate from ourselves.  Our "soul" (to think Greek) is something that will live beyond our deaths, moving to heaven to be with God.

What are the implications of thinking of ourselves as "soul."  We are living in a temporary covering - our bodies - and what we are essentially is an eternal creation, striving to live up to our potential to be in the image of God.

What we do, how we act, impacts our eternal lives.  How we interact with other people impacts their eternalness.

Not only that, but when we consider ourselves to be soul, rather than to have one, we change our "link."  As a body with a soul, we are linked to the present time.  Our understanding of ourselves is tied tightly to our earthly being.  If we are a soul with a body, then our tie is to where God dwells.  This life becomes temporary.  Important, because it is a gift from God, but still temporary.

How does the idea of being a soul that has a body strike you?

Note:  A couple of weeks ago, I was walking through Capitol Market in Charleston.  I was struck by how colorful and interesting the flowers and pumpkins were, so I snapped several images with my iPhone.  I had just finished watching a YouTube video about recording images in this kind of forum, so I was inspired to try it myself.  All of this week's images will be from that day in the market. 

If you are a West Virginia who travels to Charleston, stop by the market.  In spring, they sell flowers, in summer, they sell produce and in the fall, the flowers (mums, mostly) and pumpkins are beautiful.