God's Focus: The Soul

Editorial
By Marjorie J. Kinnee

Hovering over the dusty ground with focused intent, He carefully and oh, so gently gathered dusty earth and water to fashion a replica. Made in His image and likeness... every part, every particle, conjoined; fitly framed together. Other, lesser things could be spoken into existence and flung into the farthest regions of space; but this required total attention to the minutest detail. It was the sole purpose for all the rest. All of that was designed to be home for this one, perfect solution. He had been lonely for so long, but it was now time to set the future in motion. He breathed in deep and bent down low... "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)

The Garden was the perfect place for the perfect being He'd created. Everything man needed was there; food, water, beauty, meaningful work, and companionship... But most precious of all was the communion. How eager He was for the cool of the day when He would walk and talk and fellowship to His heart's content. (See Psalm 107:9; 149:4.) They spoke of good things, rejoiced in remembered times of joy and peace, and looked forward to more and more of the same - until - trouble came in the form of a serpent, disrupting the peace of the Garden; peace of mind, peace of body, and worst of all - the peace of the soul.

That loss of communion and fellowship drove Him to desperate measures, (the Incarnation and Calvary,) in the pursuit of restoring that soul-full kind of perfect communion. In the meantime, what kept Him going? What kept Him reaching? The answer is, Men and women like Abel, Enoch, (See Genesis 5:24.) Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, (See Numbers 12:7-8.) Ruth, David, (See Acts 13:22.) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, (See Daniel 9:23.) Zachariah, Simeon & Anna, and Mary. (See Luke 1:28.) Then, in the fulness of time, He took upon Himself flesh and walked and talked with men, pouring Himself into twelve hand-picked men for three and a-half years. For the joy of restoring that precious communion, not only in the here and now, but throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity... He submitted Himself to the death of the cross.

You see, God's primary focus is the soul!

Oh, yes, He cares about the body, ("Consider the lily, the sparrow, and the coney...") He provides what's needful, steps into situations to intervene, (miraculously if warranted,) but His focus is always the soul and it's eternal destiny. The soul is eternal. It will live or die forever... in heaven with the blessed - eternal life... or in hell with the sin-cursed - eternal death...

Ruptured by sin and bound by its deathly penalty, man was thrust out. Communion was no longer easy and frequent. Although the soul of man was designed for full fellowship with its Creator, bloody sacrifices (of innocent animals,) became the only means of approaching a Holy, Righteous God. Such sacrifices meant rules and laws and multiplied instructions, yet none of those animal sacrifices dealt with the real sin question. The best they could do was roll sins forward to the next sacrifice.

So, He willingly bankrupted Heaven to give man the hope of reconciliation and restoration. (See Psalm 77:15.) He came to earth in a robe of flesh to pay that price, shed sinless blood, die and rise again; bringing a new "breath of Life" into being. (See John 14:16-18, 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-14; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4, 16-18, 37-42.)

And what is it that keeps Him going yet today? (See John 4:35-36.)
Just another soul...! (See II Peter 3:9; Proverbs 11:30.)

P.S. A little extra food for the soul... See Malachi 3:16-17.