Which is more important to God? Up until recently, I would have probably said that the body doesn't come anywhere close to the importance of the soul. Don't get me wrong. I believe that we should help the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, and the disabled, BUT I would have probably told you that doing that without verbally sharing about Christ is NOT what God calls us to do.
But a few months ago I came across this video on Youtube featuring two of the most respected figures in Christianity today, John Piper and Tim Keller. In this video, they answer this exact question. While they conclude that the soul is more important than the body, it's not as lopsided of a battle to them as it is to me.
"We exist to relieve all suffering, especially eternal suffering!" -- John Piper
"We're saying that the eternal is more important than the temporary, NOT that the body is less important than the soul" -- Tim Keller
And so...I'm left wondering if I've gone too far to the side of overvaluing the soul over the body. For me, stories of people coming to Christ have always made my heart pound with excitement. But stories of people cured of illness...are just ho-hum ho-hum nm nm to me. It's not like one occurs much more frequent than the other. And it's not like one is more difficult than the other...
So why do I struggle to see them on the equal footing? This is troubling to me because I'm training to care for the physical needs of people...BUT I'd much rather share the Good News of Christ with them. I sometimes look at strangers on the street and wonder who will share the Gospel with them, but I never look at people to gauge how their physical health will be restored unless I'm assigned to do it.
Because I respect Keller and Piper, I can trust that the body and soul are equally important, but my heart doesn't tell me that....yet.
2 comments:
I don't know if I'd call Keller and Piper "two of the most respected figures in Christianity"... there's actually a lot of other good thinkers in the Church. One that comes to mind is Rev Rowan Williams!
Miller, I think you need to remember that service (ie evangelism and discipleship) isn't just for the person "receiving" it. The servant, discipler and evangelist also receive something in their giving.
So there is much to be said for mercy ministries. You can't preach love if you don't practice mercy.
catholicGurl, I appreciate your comments! I think the evangelical church can learn a lot from Catholic theologians (Henri Nouwen) and other ecumenical thinkers (Stanley Hauerwas, whom Time Magazine named America's best theologian).
I heard the Archbishop of Canterbury recently here in Oxford. He was more succinct and winsome than most evangelicals I've encountered.
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