like a fire

Warning: Paul’s Strange Thoughts Ahead!

Cathy and I had the pleasure of attending our first Evangelical Free Church this last Sunday. It was somewhat different than the PCA churches we are used to, but it was very good to be there. The sermon talked about the soul and the part of the soul that is set apart from the spirit. Growing up, I always heard that the soul is the part of the spirit that is our will with the spirit being the mind, will and emotions of the person. The will, I always thought, was that part of a person that was the reason for doing things. It was their ego, I guess. Not in a conceited way, but in a who you are apart from the world way.

That set me to thinking about our will. While some say that we have free will (I don’t), it is that will which drives what we pursue in life. Then there is the old phrase so often repeated in the church “dying to self”. If our self, that is us apart from the world, is our will, then are we supposed to kill our soul? That was what I was thinking about very determinedly this morning from 2ish until 5ish (that’s right, I actually lost sleep over this). What part of ourself should we be trying to kill?