"IDON'TKNOW."

...I took some notes, I swished it all around in my mind for a minute, but I couldn't let it rest.

-How do I become authentic, vulnerable and transparent?
I am hypocritical, cowardly, and guarded.
I am not enough, yet I refuse to ask what is enough.
I make my own decisions and I deal with my own consequences, but how does that connect me to others?
I am stubborn, impatient, independent, and irrational at times; So how do I let other people into my world?
Am I keeping too much to myself?
ISN'TTHATTHEPOINT?

Those who say the live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6

I haven't figured out yet exactly what this means for me, but I know I am definitely not loving like Jesus did. So there's the beginning...

Quick, time for an update.

This is what I'm reading right now.

^Life-changing, mind-blowing, perspective renewing stuff right there.

There are no ordinary people.

C.S. Lewis once wrote:
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."

(From his sermon titled "The Weight of Glory")

I thought this was an interesting perspective of the future of our souls in eternity, and I can't help but wonder: If we could really understand and glimpse what is to become of each other, how differently would we all treat one another?

"Not really, no."

About 3 hours ago a friend posed some questions on his Facebook status:

"Don't you believe we are more than just mammals - that we have soul and feeling and purpose? Don't you believe we were created for something more meaningful?"


A friend of his then stated:
 "Not really, no. Honestly. To be human is beautiful, but we don't need a soul, a creator, or a purpose for that to be true."

This really got me thinking. Those words, "Not really, no." struck a nerve in me.

I'm going to be honest, I have never in my life been faced with doubt of whether or not I had a soul, or a purpose. From diapers 'til present, I have been exposed to and taught about the concept of things like God, eternity, souls, heaven, and hell. I haven't always taken it seriously, but I could never bring myself to let go of these things as facts. They have always been true to me, and I could never fathom how anyone didn't find them as just that, facts. I can't imagine walking through life asking myself if I had a soul, and then honestly answering, "Not really, no." My perspective may be biased, but as I'm just now exploring the question of having a soul or not, I wanted to share my thoughts.

I think if we disbelieve that we have a soul, our opinion is discounted. To explain, I have to also say that it is my belief that while our brains are beyond phenomenal, and are much needed in order to have knowledge enough to form our opinion, it is a soul which creates the opinion. To me, you cannot explain things like art, beauty, philosophy, dreams, or opinions, with just a physical mind, but with the individual soul, which is created to be creative. The brain is the knowledge reservoir, the soul is what turns it to wisdom and life. (This thought is similar to the philosophy of the mind term, Dualism.)

I think my favorite thought on this is from one of my favorite people ever, C.S. Lewis:

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

To me, God gave me a soul, created in his image, so that I can have a relationship with him and love him. I couldn't do that with just my mind and my own understanding. He gives us our phenomenal human body to carry our soul while we're here, and it's because we're here that we know we have a purpose.

What is the point of having a soul and a relationship with God, and then also a body?
The body seems unimportant and useless from this view point; inhabiting time here on earth rather than skipping the whole process and being directly created for an eternity with God in heaven.

God didn't want to just create us there with him, he wants us to have a choice, and to choose it. Our soul is how his existence can reach us, our life is designed to bring glory to him, and our free will allows us to reject that or believe it. Our purpose is not just to choose Him, but to also tell the world about him once we have faith in Him, so that no one is left asking "What's next?". If it weren't for those things, we could have easily skipped a lot of this process of making our way back to our intended destination, eternity with God. We have a great responsibility with the short time God has given us. He could have made us as mere clones, or angelic beings constantly worshiping him forever without having a choice in the matter. But he didn't. Don't you think there's a reason for that? I believe that He did give us a soul, He did give us a body, He did give us a purpose, and He has also given us reasons to trust Him.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?