Our soul

We have all been baptised into one body by one Spirit,
and we all share the same Spirit.
(1 Corinthians 12:13; NLT).

Lord, our soul is you within us all (1).

You make us, breathe your soul into us, and give us life (2).

You dwell in us, and we in you, though we may never recognise your presence (3).

When we die, our soul returns to you, though in truth it has never been separated from you, for you are indivisible. The whole of you dwells in every one of us, and never leaves us (4).

No matter what we might prefer to think, we are always united with one another and with you, through Christ, your Son (5).

We do not each have a separate soul, unique to ourselves. There is only one soul, which is your Holy Spirit, shared forever by us all: those not yet born, those who are alive, and those who have died (6).

In the light of our neglected, yet primordial, oneness, and given the extremely serious state of international relations, climate change, and our widespread religious, political and personal inhumanity towards one another, here is today’s prayer:

Help us to grasp our oneness, Lord,
With you,

By loving you
In all creation:

Creatures,
People,

Earth, sky,
And ourselves.

We ask this through
Your dear Son’s name.

Amen (7).

References

1. You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

2. There is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them (Job 32:8; NLT).

3. There is […] one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28, NIV).

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1; NIV).

4. The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5; NIV).

The Lord is one (Mark 12:29; NIV).

5. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you (John 17:21; NLT).

You are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28; NLT).

6. God is Spirit (John 4:24; NLT).

You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you (1 John 2:27; NLT).

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).

Those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed […] into immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52-3; NLT).

7. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength [and] Love your neighbour as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these (Mark 12:30-31; NLT).