What are we, anyway?

Last week I told you about my pandemic birthday, and the idea that my mind, body, and soul haven’t been growing at the same pace.

But, what are we anyway? What does the mind have to do with the body and with the soul?

This is one of those posts where I share something that I’ve learned with you, borrowing ideas from Dallas Willard and mixing in my own thoughts too.

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It’s no mystery that we’re always growing. Sometimes we’re growing in size, sometimes in maturity, and always in age. When we see our little ones, it’s easy to take growth for granted. They outgrow their clothes and shoes quickly, and everyday they come back from school knowing a little bit more than they did the day before.

But what about us, the grown ups?

There’s a part in the bible that describes an educated individual asking Jesus for the most important commandment. Jesus responds that it is to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

And here’s what I’ve learned this week, a theory that explains it this way:

We are made up of heart, mind, and soul. The human is the system and the heart is in central command. The mind and soul exist in different dimensions and the heart has access to both. All three components form a human, whose existence is both physical and spiritual.

If we have our heart as the central command centre, then why do we have internal conflicts?

Because the heart doesn’t have control, and humans have the freedom to choose. Spiritual formation, is then the alignment of these components that we’re made up of. When the heart and mind and soul are aligned, good things become. In other words, if we were trees, we would bear fruit.

John Mark Comer says this:

All of us are becoming a person. The question is, who?