Sometimes we as Christians tend to compartmentalize our lives. We tend to be dualistic. What does this mean? There is our body, which lives on this planet, has needs, and seeks to find ways to satisfy them. And somewhere over here, floating in the same general neighborhood is our spirit, here but not really of this world, with needs, but needs which we sometimes think cannot be satisfied in this world. But this is not a biblical view of things.
The Bible teaches us that one human soul is a body that enfleshes a spirit, a spirit embodied in a human body. We don't really know where the dividing line is because, for example, how do you separate the consciousness of the spirit from the physical thinking process of the brain? As you think about that question, are you in the body or in the spirit? You are seeing the world with both, yet as one soul. We don't have to understand how it works, but it is important to understand that God has firmly linked the two together. The scriptures tell us that even when we are resurrected, we will be in some sort of body, just as Jesus was. I don't know how he is going to do that, but since he made this body and spirit once, I don't figure that re-creating me again will be particularly difficult.
This means that there is always a connection between the physical and the spiritual in our lives. Nothing that we do for our bodies is devoid of the spiritual, and the things that our spirits experience have tangible effects on our bodies. There is no hard and fast boundary between the two, despite our tendency to talk that way. Let me illustrate this.
In John 4, a physically thirsty Jesus meets a spiritually thirsty Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Sychar. Jesus asks for water from the woman, and the woman asks Jesus for living water, and, eventually, seriously so. As the encounter concludes, Jesus has spiritual food in such abundance that he is no longer physically hungry; he rebuffs the offer of food from his disciples. The woman is overflowing with living, spiritual water to the extent that she chooses to share it with her neighbors, while leaving her full but forgotten water jar (originally intended to satisfy her physical needs) at the well. The joy that the woman and Jesus feel is tangible. This narrative enacts the statement, "Man shall not live by bread alone," and demonstrates the move back and forth from the physical to the spiritual in the case of two different elements of the sacred: bread and water. The water and the bread that satisfy our physical needs are the same elements God uses to meet our spiritual needs; he is present in the meeting of either need, even for those who many might consider to be outsiders or infidels.
In John 21 (a narrative we referred to yesterday), seven disciples, including Peter, have gone fishing in Galilee after the death of Jesus. After fishing all night, these professional fishermen are hungry, naked, and empty-netted. In a matter of minutes, a resurrected Jesus fills their net full beyond belief, carefully maintaining their productive capacity by protecting every strained cord, and not only wishing them to be warm and filled, but doing it. In the early morning, this little community finds peace while warming at a charcoal fire and eating a breakfast of fish and bread. The simple earthly, physical acts of Jesus remind them that his spiritual and physical providence and presence are not limited by the cross. Jesus moves back and forth between the spiritual and physical totally unconcerned about whether some might wonder whether he was totally human or totally God. The spiritual healing and filling that that are intertwined with these simple physical acts reveal the creator of the universe to be interested in and active in both the physical and spiritual, interchangeably and permeably. So should we be.
How might this concept apply to our ministry context? At Westview, a family meal is among the first experiences that a young man confronts. Grace is said, usually by another boy, and a meal is shared. That meal may be the first recognizable extension of God's grace and providence that a child from poverty might experience. The nature of the Lord's Supper might remain a mystery for a long time (perhaps a lifetime), but an abundance of hot food can be a life-changing reality. This is true because so many children suffer from the systemic sins of our society: poverty, oppression, violence, and abuse. But eventually, if we can appropriately worship around the Lord's Table and our dinner table, these young people can come to understand that God has provided for all of our needs, both spiritual and physical. But he does this by dealing with the whole human: body and spirit, one soul.
As we go through this day, let us be whole people. This will allow us to better imitate Jesus for our own sake, and for the sake of those who live around us.
I wish you grace and peace for your whole person,
Ron
