God made mankind in His image and likeness (Genesis
1: 26). God is a triune being...Father, Son and Spirit. He created
us as triune beings with a Spirit, Soul and Body. Genesis 2: 7 states,
"And the LORD God formed man (body) of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a
living soul."
Due to Adam's sin, our spirit is dead within us at
birth, until we ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Then the Holy Spirit
breathes the breath of life into us and our spirit is redeemed. We cannot truly
live integrated, connective lives until we are Born Again. Our body is
our physical being that ends up in the grave at our death.
Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Our mind is
renewed into the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2), our will is submitted to the
will of God (Philippians 2:13) and our emotions are controlled
by the Spirit of God who dwells within us (James 1:19). Our soul
also contains our Inner Child, Inner Parent and Inner Adult.
David spoke of the Inner Child of the soul when he stated
in Psalm 131:2 , “Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child
who no longer cries for its mother's milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul
within me.” So often, we lose the innocence of childhood and adopt a prideful
and rebellious mindset.
As we grow up in this life, we surround our self with
defense mechanisms to prevent others from perpetrating their sins on us. We
mature quickly and develop strong emotions, which we use to protect our self. Unless
we nurture that childlike aspect of our soul, and allow the faith and
unfettered trust of a child to reign in our hearts, we cannot fully please God (Matthew
18:3).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to remember that in order for You to
fulfill our soul, we first need to be filled by Your Spirit. Our spirit must be
born again by asking You to be our Savior and our Lord (2 Peter
3:18). Then, our Inner child will feel more secure, and adopt
that childlike faith, which You desire from each of us.
Thought for the Day:
Unless we are Born Again and become as little
children, we have no hope of entering the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 18:3
