Soul of a Man

Alrighty, so I just took one of those strange online tests, this one happened to be "what is the color of your soul?" (apparently mine is red), that got me thinking: What is a soul? Where does it reside? Does it have color or shape, and does it look different for each person?

The soul of man is his inner self. what makes him human, the spirit, the "heart" of man is what makes him a sentient thing in a world of other living things which have no soul.

Where did it come from? God gave it to us, to make us different from His other creations.

Genesis 2:7 says, “then the LORD formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Our souls are that single breath of God that made us what, and who we are, His creations, the only ones made in His image, to share in part, His likeness (Genesis 1:27-28).

As an author, I have my own thoughts about what a soul looks like, what its color is, and such, but the only fact we know is that this immortal part of our bodies of dust is there because God put it there, and He did so for His own purposes and His own glory.

I always saw my soul as a little flame… Sometimes so small it would seem that a breath could blow it out. Its color changes depending on the condition of my heart, emotions, and situation. My soul used to be black as night, only ever sinful all the time, this much I know. But something wondrous happened…

Christ Jesus, the one who created all, and holds it all together, came down, became a man, adopted his own soul, yet without the stain of sin from Genesis 3. He died, willingly giving up His body of flesh and allowing for a time, Death to take Him. But He was raised! After three days He stood again in ultimate triumph over all! The blood of His cross defeated sin, but the dawn of His Resurrection defeated Death!

So now what does my soul look like? Washed in the blood of Christ and built again to reflect His glory I would say it has every color from white to any color you can imagine, whatever pleases Him, whatever color brings Him the most glory.

Sometimes that little flame burns low, begins to blacken, but in confession and repentance that flame burns white as snow, after burning red for a little while, remembering what it took to save my soul from hell.

So what is a soul? That which makes a man set apart for God’s glory from all His other wonderful creations.

Where does it reside? George MacDonald once said: “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” So one can rightly suppose that our souls for a time reside in our mortal bodies, what about color and shape? I daresay it is whatever your Creator wants it to be! Perhaps it has no definite shape yet, but is being molded by the great Potter’s hands. As for color, is anything God creates not beautiful? It is probably the most beautiful thing ever seen, aside from the glory of the Face of our Holy Father, and our Beautiful Savior.

God put it there so that we could have a share in eternity, it is eternal, and whether we will end up in eternity with God, or eternity without Him, is to be decided in this life alone.

Take heed all who hear: Hebrews 9:27 “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…”  

And finally: Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;  call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

“You don’t have a soul, you are a soul, you have a body”…

  

Simply a Man with a Ransomed Soul.

--The Scribe

Project #2 The Grinning Reaper

This, as the title suggests, is my second current project after the sequel to Dragon's Land Book 1: Lost and Found. This project began quite a while ago as a different idea, but was reborn on a cold and cloudy day last winter. Here is a bit of it, the prologue to be specific, please enjoy!

            Bars are some of the worst places on earth to be after midnight, the reason being is that is what is known as the witching hour, and while most will pass that off as a myth a part of it is true. The darkest parts of mankind’s hearts are let loose when the darkness falls, and nightmares awaken. So yeah, this is going to sound funny but…

            A man walked into a bar…

            The bartender looked over his newest patron with some apprehension. He wasn't like the others that came in after twelve, looking to drink their problems away, he seemed to be a man on a mission, and what a mission it must be! Grim is how the bartender would later describe him as he looked his new customer up and down, he was tall and lean, standing at least 6’ 5” or taller, with a scraggly five-o-clock shadow and long black hair that fell to his shoulders.

            He was dressed in a long black coat that fell to his ankles and covered whatever was underneath, except for the spotless black shoes that clacked as the dark man approached the counter, doubtless to order a drink. The man’s pale skin clashed harshly with his dark eyes that bored into the bartender’s very soul as he squeaked out all that he could manage under such an imposing presence.

            “W-What can I get you sir?” the bartender wasn't normally this polite, but those eyes… They belonged to a man who deserved some respect at least.

            The man spoke in a voice that was heavy, deep, and careworn, “A glass of anything, I won’t be here long.” He sat down on one of the stools and grabbed the glass away as soon as the bartender had finished filling it. The man drank down the hard liquor with an expressionless face, he seemed to be waiting for something to happen, and was only drinking to pass the time.

            The bar had gone silent as soon as the stranger had walked in, and it remained so for some time until the stranger himself broke the silence. He put down his fourth shot and caught the hapless bartender in his unyielding gaze. “The dreams of a drunkard are filled with the sorrows and nightmares that he tries in vain to drown. All in all, a perfect hunting ground.” 


There you go! More to come, haven't made much progress on this one yet, still only on Chapter 1, but the planning for it is done, it just needs to be written.

--Thanking God for my talents
-The Scribe

True Love

True Love....
An odd concept, and yet one that enamors human minds to no end. Many know the phrase, but few understand what love is really about. Let me give you my humble insight, what I've learned in my relatively short life. I'm not done learning, I'll be a student of love until the day I die, and on into eternity, if The Bible is true in what it says about God's love... But we'll get to that.


C.S. Lewis said once: "Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the other person's good as far as it can be obtained."

I think Mr. Lewis was on to something. Being an avid student of the Bible as he was, I cannot help but think that 1 Corinthians 13 was on his mind when he said this.
I won't reiterate the entire chapter, but I'll use parts of it later on.

But first, let's discuss what others think of love. Many do think that it is just an affectionate feeling, or a passing fancy, something that comes and goes with time.

But fantasy of the traditional sort, the type that involves true courage, real virtue, emphatic ties to good morality, and a concept of love that many discount because "fantasy" is the genre.

What is the most traditional fantasy story? I daresay, the knight rescuing the princess is the cliche of the century. But why? Why would a knight risk everything, often going up against a dragon or equal monstrosity to save the fair maiden? True love... Maybe?

But the love the Bible speaks of isn't even that, it is stronger, wider, longer, and more amazing than any other thing in this world.

C.S. Lewis has another pertinent quote: "He [God] didn't love us because we were lovable, but because He is love."
So, a new dimension, if God is love, than it is only through Him that we know it, and because of Him that we can show it, it is a part of His image in us, His creations.

A dear friend, mentor, and wonderful expositor of God's Word said this about love: "Love is giving whatever I have, that you need, because God wants me to."

Sounds like Lewis right? That is because they both draw from the same source. We can know True Love, because God showed us True Love.
Christ Jesus, gave everything... Let me say that again, Christ Jesus gave everything to save us. His divinity, gone when He took human form, His power, He refused to draw on it to save Himself from the cross, His majesty, shown only once outside of His signs to three disciples. He even gave His life... The Author of Life, had to die to save humanity.
Jesus said this Himself in John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Jesus did that same thing, but for His enemies.We, who were enemies of God, rebels to His will, were made as sons, and loved with the Ultimate Love, the Love of God.

So that is Ultimate Love, and that is how we get True Love, but where do we go from there? How do we show this kind of love?
By giving anything of ourselves, anything for the sake of another. What could drive a man to fight incalculable odds to save someone else, even at the cost of his own life? Simply, True Love, not the wordly kind, not the fading kind, but real, True Love.

How do we learn this love?

By befriending other people. Mike Donehey, the lead singer of the band Tenth Avenue North said this: "What better way to learn to love like God loves, than to be put into situations where we have to love those who don't deserve it?"

There you have it, True Love is giving anything to love someone who may not deserve your love, but you choose to give it anyway. Love is a choice, True Love is a commitment. And while we are on this earth, we are called to love like God does, and His Word teaches us how to do this, but we must choose to do it, it isn't easy, not at all, and you will get hurt sometimes. Love is hard, but it is worth it, whether you are loving your friends that God has given you, or your wife and family that God has given you responsibility for, or even your enemies, the Love is the same. And the reward is inexpressible in my meager words.

1 Corinthians 13:7 "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Undeservingly Loved By The Father,
--The Scribe





"To Write the Love, of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky."