there are no small souls

A few weeks back as I drove through rural Maine I noticed that each small town had two things;

1. Each had a  gas station that seemed to sell gas, beer and bait.

2. Each town had a postage-stamp cemetery.

I was struck by the Holy Spirit that each life that lived and died in these little towns  in relative obscurity to the rest of the world was of infinite value to the creator of the universe. These souls mattered to God to the point of his death and offering of himself through Jesus Christ.

And I wondered to myself why do we view these souls as any less than those who are buried in the great cathedrals?

In God's economy a saint is a saint is a saint.

I imagine if we had this high-view of the souls of those around us as God does we would treat each other differently and re-order our lives accordingly.

What do you think?

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, 

you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

running the race

I love to run, especially long distances in the woods....I mean anything over 10 miles. 

When I say this to non-runners they call me crazy and make odd faces. 

When I say this to road runners they call me crazy and make odd faces. 

I run for long distances in the woods because it is good for my soul, and if it is good for my soul it is good for the souls of my wife, my kids, and my friends. 

The Hebrews knew that if the soul of one in the community was not right with God then it would infect them all. Jesus picked up on this theme and warned is inner-band of followers to be aware of the "yeast of the Pharisee's". 

Simply put, this means to guard your soul against anything that makes you believe you less than completely dependent upon God. 

I forget this a lot. 
We all do. That is the human condition. James warned us of this in his letter calling us to not be double-minded. 

This is why I run. 
It gives me time to think.
It gives me time to pray. 
It gives me time to listen. 
It gives me time to care for my soul. 

God cares for souls, so much so that He died to reclaim them. 

What are you willing to give up to care for your soul? 
What are you caring for most in you life? 
If it is anything other than your soul than stop and re-focus. 


"This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming."
2 Timothy 4:7 Message