We
are the sum of what we tolerate.
That
which we tolerate, we propagate.
The ‘we’ I refer to is/are Christians. So what do we tolerate? I address this with
another question: How do we label a condition in which a person’s spirit and body
are in quite good condition, but the mental functions are not? Mentally
deficient or challenged or ill? Deranged? What if the condition is long term,
resulting in slow, steady mental deterioration?
A Christian is someone whose spirit has been regenerated, i.e., ‘born again’, by God’s power, the initial benefit of accepting Christ’s sacrificial death as the substitute punishment for his/her sin. Additionally, a Christian has been spiritually born or baptized into, and is referred to as ‘The Body of Christ’, and has received God’s promise of a new, immortal body in which his/her eternal spirit will spend eternity with God.*
So what’s missing? Created by Jesus in the image of God, human beings are spirit (our essence), soul (mind, will, emotions, imagination and intellect), and physical body. Per the above, God has clearly addressed our need for a regenerated spirit and body. However, He has delegated to us the challenge of saving/renewing/regenerating our soul/mind. Poetically speaking:
Jesus can save your spirit,
But He says you must save your soul.
If
you have not yet done it,
You're not yet fully in His fold!!!
The human soul comprises five mental functions: the reasoning mind, the knowing intellect, the feeling emotions, the desiring will, the creative imagination). Think of it as your govenator, controlling the link between your spirit and your body, and facilitating your interactions with our physical world. Now imagine being born into a new world with a healthy spirit and body, but relatively undeveloped soul/mental capabilities. This is the picture so well painted in the movie, Avatar. In this movie, the spirit and soul of a brilliant (human) paraplegic scientist/social scientist was teleported, via a futuristic technology, into an alien body on a planet under threat of human mining operations to extract and transport a rare mineral to earth. During his initial foray on this planet, he encounters a female alien who saves his butt from certain disaster, and then spurns him as ‘a baby!’ Imagine that! Highly educated and experienced in human terms, and in a body that is far more exceptional than his human body confined to a wheel chair, yet acting like a babe in this new world!
Unfortunately, this is the picture of too many Christians -- baby Christians who have not taken on Christ’s challenge to save/renew their soul/mind. Moreover, they have l-o-n-g tolerated, and thus propagated this condition. We erroneously refer to them as ‘spiritual babes’. Why erroneous? God has assured the total, complete regeneration of their spirit, and has totally infused His Spirit with their spirit. There is NO deficiency here. Like the movie character, they are deficient in another area -- content to get by with babyish reasoning, emotions, imagination, will, and intellect relative to citizenship in The Kingdom of God. The sad kicker is that mental capabilities are not static. Like any capability, they atrophy without use and development. With Alzheimer’s disease, a form of plaque protein accumulates across increasing portions of a person’s brain, clouding and eventually dousing out their mental functionality. I imagine long-term baby Christians may accumulate the plaque of pliant pilgrimage in our carnal cosmos. They flow fluidly with its cultural currents, unable to discern The Holy Spirit’s urgings and unctions.
God calls upon us to live by faith, and
by faith, learn to receive from Him according to His promises. Does this also
apply to soul salvation, for which we are primarily responsible? It certainly
does! So how do we accomplish this? 2 Peter 1:3-4 affirm that, via His Word
promises, received and acted on by faith, God has given to us ALL things
that pertain to godly living. Thus, it is safe to conclude this is also how we
should begin our soul development process – namely agreeing with,
professing, and meditating on exactly what
God’s Word says about the matter, then daily yielding to His
Spirit to accomplish the development work.
Ok, so what does He say about soul
salvation and development. We typically think about Romans 12:2, where Paul’s
writes ‘...And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God’. However, this is simply an admonition, not
a direct promise, per se, on which one can build
faith. Rather, a relevant, faith-building promise is found in 1 Corinthians
2:16, a verse we may not hear frequently in Christian circles. It
simply states ‘...But you have the mind of Christ.’ Here is a powerful
confession to support your soul salvation:
By
faith, I receive and I have The Mind of Christ! Period!
As
I study/meditate God’s Word, His Spirit develops This Mind in me.
We generally have no problem understanding that we have God’s Spirit in us, and that we are His body. The short circuit happens when it comes to our soul, that is, our mental faculties that pertain to our new life. As you make this confession and meditation part of your life, don’t be surprised if you experience some significant transformations:
o From
Christ-enmity, to Christ-amity. The Bible
reveals that our carnal/un-regenerated thought process is at enmity (is an
enemy) with God. Being an alleged born again Christian without
proactively practicing soul salvation is being God’s enemy!
Amity is the opposite of enmity.
o From
Christianity, to Christ-I-Am-ity. The
word, Christianity means ‘follower of Christ, The Anointed One’, and it
has a Latin ending, ‘ianity’, which means ‘belonging to’.
Christ-I-Am-ity signifies continually growing into the fullness of Christ, spirit,
soul and body, to the extent possible in this life. He came,
died, and was raised to reconcile us back to God. He accomplishes this in three
broad strokes -- spirit, soul, and body in that sequence. He gave us His Word
and instructed us to use it to save/restructure our soul functions (mind,
intellect, will, imaginations, emotions). While He cannot/will not do
that for us, His Spirit is certainly willing, ready, and able to
do this with us.
There is a soul Jesus cannot save -- Yours!
Yes,
He can open or close any doors,
But
He is powerless to save your soul.
To
you, this He delegates as your role.
For this, He’s provided all the resources,
His
Word, Spirit, angels, and ‘Body sources’.
If
His challenge you refuse and decline,
There
will be no hope for your carnal mind.
Carnality of the world is like soul plaque.
Here’s
a way to know if your soul has been hacked,
And
also to know if you’re really in Christ’s sheepfold:
Ask:
‘What priority do I give to saving my soul?’
Remember, only God can save your spirit,
And
also give you a new body for it!
But
when it comes to ensuring your soul is fit,
Imagine
Jesus saying to you…
Tag,
You’re It!
See: Christiam (Poem)
See: Christiam (Poem)
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* According to The Bible, every human
will receive such a body. The difference between Christians and non-Christians
is where they will spend eternity in their immortal bodies.
