Spirit, Soul and Bread Pudding!
In the introduction to my blog I state
"I hope to share my stories through both my spirit and soul because with heart those two will write."
Here is my attempt at explaining what I meant by that. Just what is the soul?
And the spirit? Being of a curious sort...many moons ago I went to find out.
The classroom received the sleepy looking young
men scrambling in, juggling notebooks and coffee mugs that looked more like
kettles. The seminarians took seats and sat in a daze, still and quiet.
I placed the plate of bread pudding
on the teacher's desk and grabbed one of
the seats in front of my friend, the
psychiatrist, and his beautiful blonde wife. We had five minutes to wait for
our last class of Old Testament Survey. That day we were to receive our grade
for the semester. That day the professor had mentioned we could ask anything
about the Bible and Marggie Rassler was ready.
I turned around and smiled at my friend.
"So, doctor, what are we getting today?"
"Some of your bread pudding I hope.
The rest I already got. Information. Don't care about the grade. The practice
comes first."
I
turned to his wife and she grinned. "Not me. I want both. Information and
the A. And you?" I thought about it
for a second and knew the answer. "I'm with you. My brain is mush. I
worked hard. I want an A."
The class had been packed with much data,
homework and exams. Memorization seemed the key to success. We tackled exams
full of essay questions and blank maps of Israel to fill out with its cities
and regions, important passages of Old
Testament portions to memorize and dissect, theme lines from each of the
thirty-nine books of the Old Testament to learn by heart, etc., etc. All put
together then, to shine knowledge of its relevance with New Testament teachings. The class inwardly
enriched me. The history and spiritual information learned turned into that artifact
I worked hard to excavate but afterward, much satisfaction.
I
heard the noise of books and papers drop on the teacher's desk and turned to catch
a glimpse of Dr. Galleoti with a mouth full of bread pudding. He winked at me.
I had come up with the promised goods.
The Bible questions from classmates
started fast and steady. One after another those hard to answer queries tackled
by a much prepared teacher. Finally my turn came.
"Dr. Galleoti, will you explain to me
what is the difference between soul and spirit? Is there even a difference?
He cleared his throat. "Mrs. Rassler,
there is a difference. Look up Hebrews
4:12. If the passage tells you they can be divided one from the other and
it gives you separate names for them, they are different. The soul is all your
personality. That person who you are that makes you, you. It was given when God breathed life into you. At death the soul departs. Look
up Genesis 2:7. The soul is the
habitation for your mind, emotions and will."
My eyes traced every movement of Dr. Galleoti's face. I watched as he took a
breath but I could also sense my classmates. The room pulsed with hungry
curiosity. He cleared his throat again.
"The spirit is that immaterial part of
us that has the capability to connect with its Creator. If alive in Him, and
open, it can receive its inspiration from Him. Some of the closest times to Him
can certainly be when we create. After
class I will give you more information for research."
Dr. Galleoti turned to answer others'
questions but when there was a pause I raised my hand again.
"Dr. Galleoti, I
got one more question. Please?"
"All right, Mrs. Rassler."
"What's heaven going to be like? What
will we find there?"
Dr. Galleoti laughed. "That's two
questions. Mrs. Rassler, I don't exactly know how to answer that in the time we have here but I can tell you
one thing. There'll be room for your bread pudding.
* I got an A. Was it the bread pudding?
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