Your Soul is Showing
Girls are accustomed to being told that their slip is showing, if such is the case. One who is told too often may be considered a careless dresser. Worse than letting a slip show, though, is letting one's soul show. I quote from a letter which said, "There are some awful souls talking in Christian speech." Awful souls? I began to think about it. I knew what was meant, of course, but there was something here that needed clarification.
All souls are had in the sight of God. Even when men of the world speak of some of the great and charitable as being "great-souled" they are not talking from God's perspective. They may fulfill certain human standards, and the vestigial remnants of the divine image that are in all men might be more dominant in such men. However, according to divine revelation, all the thoughts of man's heart are vanity. It is only when one has been born again that there is true life - divine life. If the Christian spirit is dominant in a Christian, it will be possible to see the presence and growth of the Lord. But if the soul is showing, it will always be the soul of Adam which can be seen.
The sad part of the phrase from the letter mentioned above is that which tells of the use of Christian speech by such souls. They arc even glib at times with their use of Christian cliches. They can testify "Jesus saves and keeps and satisfies" - and can look around with a smirk and sit down in proud self-satisfaction.
There are professing Christians who get a completely carnal thrill out of revival meetings and other church services. One woman told me that she went forward in different meetings when the invitation was given because she "felt good" afterward. It was her soul that was showing. An outstanding minister of one of the largest churches on the Pacific Coast told me that he knew many people that came forward on an average of once a month for "decision." That can be an unconscious exhibitionism - the soul is showing.
Most commonly, though, the soul shows in the carnality of the Christian walk. The soul shows itself in prayerlessness or in failure to feed upon the Word of God. There is only one way to overcome this out-Jeering of the soul, and that is by having it put to death daily with Christ in His crucifixion. Then we shall be able to say truly, "It is no longer I (the soul) that lives, but Christ who liveth in me (the spirit)."
1. What does the New Testament teach us about the image of God in regards to our relation to Christ?
2. What kind of carnality is showing from your soul?
