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Love God and love your neighbour is the summary of the commandments.

REFLECTION

Love with all your soul is the theme for today’s reflection. The soul is believed to be the person in the body of a human being. The spirit is different from the soul, in that God created the soul, gave it a body and breathed life into it. Therefore human beings are made of Body, soul and spirit. The Body is attracted to the world, the soul is in a constant dilemma of following the desire of the body or pursuing the ultimate will of God through the spirit’s inclination to God.

The soul of a person determines his will and choice through the mind and the heart, that is why Peter said that “After being made alive, he (Jesus) went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits — to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. “(1 Peter 3:19-20). In other words, the imprisoned spirits had souls which may decide to hear the word of Salvation and grace that Jesus brought to them. It was the same souls which were disobedient in their earthly bodies but when their bodies died, their spirits were imprisoned as a result of the act of the soul.

My dear friend, it goes to reason that we cannot love God fully with our bodies until we have loved him first with our souls. The soul is the real person in our body and our spirit is the gift of God that gave the soul life. The soul determines the fate of the body and the destiny of the spirit. “… he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31) The heart and the mind represent the body and the soul is actually the will of the person who comes to the conviction to love God. The body is weak when the soul is unable to pursue the desire of the spirit which gives life to it. We shall recall that Jesus said to the disciples “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) In other words, the spirit desire the will of God but the soul’s will which is not connected to the pleasing God causes the body to be weak. Have you ever asked the question of why one and the same person have different voices speaking or prompting him or her when faced with a dilemma especially during the time of temptation?

A soul that loves God will surely cause the heart and mind in the body to love God. Again a soul that that loves God is able to experience and discover God’s purpose and then see the same value in other people for which that Soul will love other souls as himself or herself. A soul that has not experienced the will and love of God cannot extend the same love to other souls. To love another as yourself is not a mere act of volition but it is borne out of a deep sense of the love of God for yourself first for which you can now discover your value and purpose and then extend the same love to others. A soul that commits suicide by destroying his or her body and a soul that has lost the sense of God, love and reverence of God will not respect the dignity of others and will not hesitate to destroy the bodies of his or her neighbour. This is why armed robbery and killing and self-centred crimes such as corruption has continued to linger in our societies. The question, therefore is do you truly love God with all your soul, and has that love led you to discover God’s love to the point that you respect the dignity of life in others and love them with all your soul unconditionally? Remember to keep your soul focused on God and to keep your spirit in tune with the Holy Spirit you must “pray continually or without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and continually study the Word of God, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12-13) Shalom

PRAYER

ALMIGHTY GOD GUIDE MY SOUL TO FOCUS ON YOU ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, MAY I CONTINUALLY LOVE YOU, FOR YOU FIRST LOVED ME THROUGH YOUR SON JESUS CHRIST. STRENGTHEN MY SOUL TO DO YOUR WILL BY SHARING YOUR UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WITH OTHER PRECIOUS SOULS I MEET IN LIFE. AMEN

JEAN-PAUL AIDI