Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Souls

Today I woke up with little rest, was thinking about the upcoming funeral, and was otherwise feeling heavy in my heart.  It is in these times that I remember how much overcoming I have attained. 

I was reminded of the verse, "Luke 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls." (KJV).   This verse intrigued me, because it had never occurred to me that our soul could be a possession.  To review further, here are some parallel translations:

·         New International Version (©1984)
By standing firm you will gain life.
·         New Living Translation (©2007)
By standing firm, you will win your souls.
·         English Standard Version (©2001)
By your endurance you will gain your lives.
·         New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"By your endurance you will gain your lives.
·         International Standard Version (©2008)
By your endurance you will protect your lives."
·         GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
By your endurance you will save your life.
·         King James Bible
In your patience possess ye your souls

The concept of possessing our own soul, links back to the understanding that "perseverance builds character (probation, experience), and character builds hope", Romans 5:4.   It is the hope from ALL OF THAT travailing that is the “hope that does not disappoint”.

In other words, “quick hope” and “enduring hope” are fundamentally achieved and applied separately.  For example, I can have a quick hope to win the lottery or a quick hope that the man I just saw is eligible, kind, and interesting.  But those hopes fade as quickly as they appear, because they are often without substance or proof.

On the other hand, enduring hope is built laboriously through work in my mind, heart, and will.  For instance, if that same eligible, kind, and interesting man were to introduce himself, pursue me, and get to know me, then those efforts would bear a different (and often more realistic), hope.

What is interesting in these analogies is that enduring hope represents an entrenched reality.  A fleeting hope represents idealization or unreality.

Oooo…discuss….

Blog by E.D. Lewis

1 comment:

  1. Very interesting and uplifting on " enduring hope".
    Endruring hope is a way of changing the way one thinks and alingning it with Jesus Christ way of thinking. This takes a lot of work. It is similar to faith in the sense that what you believe in your heart according to the words of the Lord will eventually happen. It is closing
    your eyes to reality and focusing on Christ only.
    From Joelle Lortie

    ReplyDelete