What does your soul look like?

Growing up, I went to church with a man who was blind. Every Wednesday and Sunday, when I saw him in the distance, I could not wait to go talk to him and ask him how he was doing. I am not sure what it was about this man, but he was one of the kindest and most genuine people I had ever met. There was one conversation I had with him when I was in third grade that I will never forget. It started as the typical, "Hi, Mr. Randy! How are you today?" He responded, "That must be Jerilyn! I am great. I just want you to know something, you are so beautiful." My little third grade self began to giggle, "But.. You can't see me!" His response shocked me and I will never forget these words, "Yes, but I don't need to see you because your heart are soul are so beautiful." This still hits me hard every time I think of this conversation. I am often convicted when I think about times I have disregarded my pure soul to fulfill the flesh. One of my biggest struggles is dealing with hurt and bitterness. I allow it to overcome me at times and I constantly become bitter towards those who hurt me, which ultimately keeps me from having the pure soul that I desire. It is so much easier to handle hurt the way that I want instead of keeping a pure soul and clean conscience. 

    Man is quick to decipher people by looks, but eventually, character is what makes the impact. In order to be fit to fulfill the will of God, it is vitally important to have a pure heart and soul. God sees the heart first, and He is calling the pure in heart to benefit His Kingdom. In Scripture, there were times recorded when men would look for the strongest and most physically fit to do the job, but God quickly ended this cycle. 1 Samuel 16:7 states, "But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.'" The Lord sees the inner man and evaluates him, but mankind often have the superficial glasses which keep them from judging a person for who they truly are.

    Dear readers, what if the only characteristic people saw of you was your soul? What if your character, integrity, and motives were what people physically saw? I can assure you that this world would be flipped upside-down if that were the case. What many do not realize is that the heart and soul of a person is often what cuts deeper than any appearance over time. Your soul becomes all the more transparent when people get close to you and get to know you on a deeper level.

What should your soul reveal?     Your soul should be a testimony of light. Paul talked a lot about one's "new self" which comes with accepting Christ and living for Him. Paul made it clear that there are different ways to walk. Those who are seeking to live with a pure soul walk in a sacrificial love, light, joy, peace, and humility (Ephesians 4-5). A soul that is true to the Lord and His work is full of deep, genuine, agape love. 

How can you tell that someone has a pure soul?      Paul stated that you will know a person by his or her fruits. The fruits of the Spirit and a pure soul are found in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." 

Final thoughts

    If others saw your soul alone, would they see you as beautiful? What if mirrors were reflections of your soul? Would you seek to make yourself look better? In order to purify your soul, you must set aside what you want in order to be transformed into a soul that is so pure and rich that it cannot be contained. Precious readers, only those who are full of the Spirit can have a pure soul that is vibrant and persistent. In order to have a pure heart and soul, you must be in constant prayer and time with the Creator. My Jesus takes the mess that inevitably inks my soul and my name and He blots out the remainder of my sins. God is calling us to be more like Randy in the sense that we seek people's true conditions of their souls. He also wants us to have a pure soul that shines brighter than any sense of appearance. May we continually allow Christ to transform the image of our souls that we may be pure, reflecting His precious light and love across the earth.