We spend a lifetime in soul formation, becoming who we really are. Yet the sad reality is that some of us unthinkingly sell our soul for things we don’t really care about.
I remember sitting way up on a mountainside in Papua New Guinea, in awe of the great beauty before me. I was 19 years old, spending a year as a missionary on the opposite side of the globe from the life I knew, and I was learning about a whole new world. Before me was a beautiful valley with small huts scattered around and families sitting in them gathered around their fires. There was no doubt in my mind that all of this was from the hand of God. Looking out over the valley below, however, I wrestled with competing ideas.
After my yearlong mission, I planned on going to college. Friends, however, warned me that college caused a lot of people to lose their faith in God. I couldn’t fathom how knowledge and education would lead me away from believing in God. Everything I could see before me convinced me otherwise. I decided then and there that I would mark that moment as an important memory. Any idea that challenged my faith in God would have to rival the sight, sounds, and smells of the beauty before me. I didn’t think it would be possible.
Well, college did happen not long after that. It was all you might expect in the highs and lows of learning and scholastic achievement. All along, I remembered my decision on the mountain that I would hold to my faith as I considered what the academy presented from the bachelor’s degree all the way through a Ph.D. There were challenging times, but I was thankful for my mountainside experience that I held as a faith benchmark. I willingly considered other ideas of what to believe but on the idea level only. Nothing rivaled my mountainside.
Along the way I decided that this benchmark of faith had to be more than an idea. I needed the practice of faith to give it life and substance. Being involved in a local church with my family has served that purpose for me. Finding ways to serve and be part of a community showed me how my faith mattered. It was still tested but this faith had people in it – children, teenagers, adults, people like me, people different from me, souls finding their way together.
And I’m still here. Faith has pulled me, pushed me, hidden its face from me, hit me upside the face at times, but I’m still here. There is a mountain in my memory that was a time and place for a decision that would measure all other decisions. I’m a soul survivor. How about you?
If you find yourself soul searching about your identity, here are some guiding suggestions for a soul survivor:
1. Realize that who you are is always a matter of faith.
We make choices and we adapt to our environment. Who we ultimately become, however, is always a matter of faith. There is no magic wand to make you who you want to be. It takes work, perspective, opportunity, and good choices. Worthwhile efforts are often challenging. Being convinced of truth is good, but it is an act of faith. Do you have a mountainside memory to remind you why you believe?
2. Commit yourself to having an open mind within your faith framework.
Having a faith in something sturdy for your life will make all the difference. With a benchmark of faith, you can open your mind to all of the ideas the world will throw at you. And through it all, you can be at peace with your choices. Be warned, however, that who we are in our soul is not completely up to us. We always exist in some community of influence. Make sure your choices of influence are in your faith framework as you consider other ideas with an open mind.
3. Make your faith come alive by living it out in practical ways.
Your faith ideas don’t exist in a vacuum. Your faith benchmark should have a practical outlet. Who you decide to be needs to be reflected in the faces and places where you put your resources. Get involved in the practice of things you believe to reflect your essential beliefs, and do it with like-minded people. Is it community service? Is it a local church? Ecological issues? Keep your benchmark beliefs alive and be a soul survivor!
Pursuing Peace 