Dearly Beloved,
Grace and peace to you, Van Meter friends and family!
How are you? We often greet each other with that question. When you do, are you guilty (as I sometimes have been) of not really expecting to hear all the details of how that person is really doing? It is easy to answer, "Oh, I'm fine", when actually you are tired, discouraged, anxious, impatient, or _________.
Maybe a better question is, "How is it with your soul?" This is a modern paraphrase of the question John Wesley used to begin every historic Methodist class meeting. It's not just asking how are you physically, but how is the state of your being and soul? Our health includes body and soul and the two cannot be separated.
I think we often avoid this question because it requires us to do serious self-reflection. We might have to admit, at least to ourselves, that our soul is feeling dry. Or maybe we don't even know how our soul is.
The original phrasing of Wesley's question is, "How does your soul prosper?" That phrasing asks a slightly different question. What I hear in "How does your soul prosper?" is a focus on how our soul or being is growing or moving forward ("prospering"), instead of focusing on the current state of my feelings.
I invite you to pause for a few moments and seriously ask yourself, "How does my soul prosper?" In this time of divisive public speech, intolerance toward differing opinions and beliefs, and violent acts perpetrated against others who hold differing opinions and views, it is all the more crucial to ask, "How does your soul prosper?"
Biblical scholar Joseph Yoo suggests we use the following questions to figure out what is life-giving, and what
is life draining:
- What are the practices I am doing that bring my soul closer God?
- What things am I am doing that put a wedge between God and myself?
- What things am I am doing that really make my soul shine brightly and flourish?
- What are things I am engaged in that drain the life out of my soul?
It's easy to confuse routine with commitment and get caught up in activities that aren't helpful to my soul, aren't that important, and often take priority and precedence over God. Asking "How does your soul prosper?" helps us to figure out the habits or activities which draw us closer to God and bring us life.
I read that prayer is to our souls what breathing is to our bodies. Wesley's question helps me make sure my soul is breathing. It reminds me to pause, pray, wonder, be in awe, laugh, cry, and sing. It reminds me that it's okay to be human, to experience life, to not be okay all the time, and ask for help.
I believe Wesley's question is vitally important to ask of ourselves (and each other) weekly, if not daily. Doing a soul checkup is a way of holding ourselves accountable in growing closer to the image of Christ.
Do a soul checkup on yourself. Take time to be quiet with God, allow your soul to breathe, and listen for the ways God's Spirit is nudging you to grow closer to the image of Christ. Be willing to let go of something if it does not bring you life and light. Then ask a sibling in Christ, "How does your soul prosper?" and genuinely listen to their response. May your soul and mine prosper as we grow more and more to reflect the image of Christ to each other and to each person we meet.
If we made doing a soul checkup our regular practice, how might it transform us and the world around us?
Pastor Cathy