Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Are we more than just skin and bones?

"You are a soul, but you are not a spirit, though you have a spirit." This was a line that I had taken note of in class. I recently remembered a song written a couple years ago called "Someone Worth Dying For" by Mikeschair. The chorus as well as the verses reminded me of what we are learning in class. Below are the lyrics posted to the song.
You might be the wife,
Waiting up at night
You might be the man,
Struggling to provide
Feeling like it's hopeless

Maybe you're the son,
Who chose a broken road
Maybe you're the girl,
Thinking you'll end up alone
Praying God can you hear me?
Oh God are you listening?

(Chorus)
Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah, I wanna believe, I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
That you don't see and you don't know
Yeah I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

I know you've heard the truth that God has set you free
But you think you're the one that grace could never reach
So you just keep asking, what everybody's asking

Chorus

You're worth it, you can't earn it
Yeah the Cross has proven
That you're sacred and blameless
Your life has purpose

You are more than flesh and bone
Can't you see you're something beautiful
Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe
He wants you to see, He wants you to see
That you're not just some wandering soul
That can't be seen and can't be known
Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe that you
Are someone worth dying for

You're someone worth dying for
You're someone worth dying for

Reading the lyrics meant more to me than hearing the song several times. The question asked in the song "Am I more than flesh and bone?" brought to mind what we are. Our living is really in our souls, not our bodies. The bodies we have are temporary dwellings that we have just for Earth. If what we are is a soul, then what does that even mean? The class as a whole defined the soul as life, something only belonging to humans and not animals, and breath. Without this breath, there would be nothing keeping us alive. This topic can be heavily debated by scholars, of which I am not, so I do intend to talk about something of which I have not mastered, if that is really possible.
Scripture points us to some places where the soul is mentioned and described. Starting in Genesis 2:7 where God created man and "breathed" into him the breath of life. The word "breathed" is also used in 1 Timothy 3:16a, "All Scripture is God-breathed." Can the Scriptures really be alive? If God breathed into them, then I would agree with that. Matthew 10:28 says, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." With that verse in mind, the soul cannot be destroyed; however, the body can.
Our whole beings are more than just skin, bones, and organs that allow the body to function. I believe that God allows our souls to live, since He breathed into them life. God is able to create and destroy souls, so we ought to fear Him and His immense power. The Scriptures say it best in Acts 17:28a "For in Him we live and move and have our being." This verse carries with it a vivid picture of how we are created in Christ.
Below is a link for the song.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSoAkJXjxiU

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing these thoughts and providing that song which gives an important and life changing reminder. The song is encouraging in reminding us of the value God places upon us as humans. The fact that we are something worth dying for separates us from the rest of creation. I remember a time in my life where this song convicted me of the truth that I am something worth dying for. The enemy uses the problems in this world along with broken relationships to cause people to believe the lie that tells them they are worthless and have no purpose. The truth is that no matter the sin, no matter the person, the fact that they are a human being with a soul automatically makes them God's most valuable creation. It is sad how easy it is to remember this, harder to believer it and then feel it, but the truth will set you free and the truth is God died for every human that will ever live. Amen and Amen

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  3. Thank you for sharing this song. It is a wonderful reminder that all of us have great worth to God. You are absolutely right in that we as humans are different than anything God created because we have souls, and we will live on after this life is over. It makes me think of 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) when it says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Because we are spiritual beings, those of use who know Christ will one day leave our physical bodies behind and live with Him for eternity. Not only is this possible because we have souls, but because He thought each one of us was worth dying for. He paid the ultimate price for our sins so we would not have to. My mind still struggles to comprehend a love like that.

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  4. Great post and great song! I know for me it is sometimes easy to hear phrases like "God thought your soul was worth dying for," or "God died for you," and let them slide right off with only a passing acknowledgement of "yes, I know that, and that's amazing," and nothing more. We hear those phrases or others like them in our Christian culture and churches so very often that it is easy to miss the weight of them. However, something Dr. Corsini said recently--"You are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for you. What was someone willing to pay for you?"--really hit me hard with this concept. I almost felt like I was hearing that for the first time just because it was a new way of thinking about it. The message in this song is such a powerful truth once we realize the weight it carries.

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  5. Thoughts like these kind of make you realize we're living in "Earth Suits" as Dr. Corsini calls them, and its so true. Sometimes people spend so much time and effort making sure they look good on the outside, but if what you really are is a soul then is all this effort in vain? I Samuel 16:7 says "But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” This is such a strong reminder to focus on the soul, though it is unwise to neglect the physical body (after all you only get one earth suit). Anyway, this has implications for counseling because many people think that their problems center around what they are experiencing with their five senses, their earth suits. Sometimes, problems can be centered in the physical world. However, problems also manifest themselves in the immaterial person. It seems logical that most problems probably carry both a physical and an immaterial component thus counselors should attempt to facilitate healing in both.

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