Author : Zane Madison
For most people, the spiritual life begins with either the thought of self or the thought of God. Those, in whom the spirit is awakened by the knowledge of their own great needs, have a natural tendency to look inward. They only look outward and upward as a result of what they have found while looking within. Others, of great faith, look first to God. For them, eternal matters have ever been a reality.From one or the other then, from these two starting points, the religious life of most will begin. One will learn from the greatness of his or her own needs, the other from the greatness and holiness of God. They both will learn that self knowledge, apart from God, can only lead to despair. Many sincere aspirants to a life of holiness have fallen by the wayside for the simple reason that they failed to understand themselves. Self knowledge and self discipline are essential to any growth in sanctity.The fact of the matter is that we must come to an understanding that we are subject to certain laws. Failure to obey physical laws can cause poor health or even death. Failure to abide by the laws governing our minds can result in insanity. In addition, failure to know and abide by the higher laws of our inmost being can cause spiritual shipwrecks.No two men are exactly alike and each person differs from others in experience and character. In one way we must stand alone but in another way we share the struggles and heartaches common to all mankind. Our inner struggle is marked by the realization that man is not at one with himself. This is because the inner soul is not at one with itself. What are the faculties of the spiritual soul?Intellect and free will are the two faculties of the human spiritual soul. That being the case, it should be easy to see why it is the seat of conflict. Intellect and free will are the means by which we know and act. It does not take a specialist to conclude that faulty or only partial knowledge, together with a weak will can result in disaster.Man alone, it would seem, is the only creature not at one with himself. Other creatures have souls but they are not spiritual souls. They are simply, principles of life. Because other creatures are not torn by the divide by knowing and acting, they are essentially at one with themselves. Even though a lion may be at war with a crocodile, he is at one with himself.Man alone is not master of himself and their discord lies in the council chamber of the human soul. It is a battle between intellectual and moral powers. Man is not at one with himself because the mind and the will are not at one. Our will refuses to obey the guidance of reason. We hate our sins, yet continue to commit them. We admire self control, yet discipline ourselves when we yield temptation.Our moral life is our highest form of life. Other acts of the will are really of secondary importance when compared to the moral sphere, but it is in the moral sphere that we fail to do the things we should and do the things we despise. We are so accustomed to these paradoxes that if they happened in any other than the moral sphere we would call them madness.If intellect and will cooperate in other matters, what is the reason for this exception in the arena of the inner chamber of the soul? Saint Paul believed this strife could be traced to four forces. These sources are the law of the members, the law of the mind, the law of sin, and the law of the spirit of life. Let us look briefly at each one.Is there a law of our members which inclines us towards acts and desires that prepare the way for sin? Saint Paul said yes. The law of the mind according to Saint Paul is even at war with the law of the members. The law of the members is of the lower self while the law of the mind is of the higher or true self. It is the voice of conscience.Sin has its own terrible law, for it is the violation of law. It is the entrance into the moral life of that which is deadly. The law of sin is death. The law of the spirit of life can best be understood in this way. Think of the law of the mind and conscience. Conscience cannot save the soul from sin, but it can lead it to its deliverer. The spirit of life is Christ himself.Many more pages could be written regarding these four forces. Together they take us to the seat of conflict where there occurs the great moral battle. To better understand these forces and their impact on the council chamber of the soul, is at once to understand ourselves a little better. Know yourself, we are challenged. This land of twilight where the person wars with opposing forces in a battle to the death is the seat at the center of self knowledge and self discipline. It is at this seat of conflict that the great moral battle is fought to decide whether or not the soul will be ruled by sin or by the spirit of life.© 2006 -- Zane Madison -- German Adverbs | German Vowels
Keyword : saint paul, spirit of life, soul
สมัครสมาชิก:
ส่งความคิดเห็น (Atom)
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น