3 John 2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Holy Spirit is reminding us to not neglect our soul. The soul is made up of our mind, will, and emotions. We human beings are a triune being. We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in this physical body. Look at this teaching (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPBN5hQGLr0) for further explanation. In the above verse Holy Spirit tells us to make sure our soul is prospering as well as our physical body.

Growing up in church and listening to a lot of teachings in my life. The soul is always neglected. This is sometimes caused by people not understanding what the soul is. Many times, the soul is confused with the spirit and this many time leads to poor application of teachings. Like I mentioned above, the soul is made up of our mind, will, and emotions. The soul is the buffer between spirit and body. Another way to look at it is the soul is the tie breaker between the body and spirit. Our spirit is what should influence our soul because our spirit is influenced by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. But since the fall of mankind the body or the flesh is what influences our soul. Scripture tells us to walk by the spirit not the flesh.

The stage I am in life right now, is me trying to figure out how do I express who I am in the spirit through my soul. This is in my daily walk as a believer. An example is that when it comes to hanging out and just trying to have a good time, because for me having a good time is not studying the bible or praying. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing those things, but I wouldn’t consider that having a good time. Having fun for me is doing something out door. Depending on your church upbringing, you might have been told that dancing is a sin, but we know that’s not true. It depends on your motives for dancing. This is what I mean by maturing in this world. Living a life influenced by our spirit and not being held back by our religious upbringing.

In Romans 12:2, “…And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

This verse is talking about renewing our soul according to the word of God. Renewing our soul involves renewing our identity in Christ and renewing our ways to match the ways of God. I never connected renewing our ways to match that of God with doing fun things. I only connected it with the heavy and serious things in life. But now the Lord is teaching me about maturing in this world. Learning to enjoy this world through Him and His word. That will look different for other people, but the end result will be the same; glorifying God.