Before the dark days of World War II, God used a profound solitary voice to shape the soul of Great Britain by the name of G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton served the kingdom of God as an apologist, theologian, prolific writer, columnists, and novelist. One of the great influences of his life had to be the effect he had on the great mind of C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest voices of Christendom.
When Lewis struggled for his soul in the empty depths of atheism, God used Chesterton to touch his heart and mind. Lewis described his touch years later as follows:
“In reading Chesterton, as in reading [George] MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere — “Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,” as Herbert says, “fine nets and stratagems.” God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.”
Praise the LORD that He will go to any extreme to capture our hearts for His glory and purposes.
One of my favorite Chesterton quotes revolves around the dawning of a new year. He wrote:
“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.”
As you can readily see, Chesterton nailed it. Life only has true meaning and purpose on the “soul level”—all other experiences are nothing more than random heartbeats and wasted breathes. So how does one seek a new soul?
I resonate with Paul’s amazing description of this transformation within when he wrote to his comrades in Corinth, a pagan city awash in the slime and sensuality of the human condition saying:
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)
As we gaze upon the stunning glory and beauty of our Lord, His power and presence transforms our souls into His image— as His character oozing from our very pores through “fruit” of His Spirit abiding within us. Yes, God transforms our souls from the inside out.
Bishop John H. Vincent, a Methodist pioneer of spiritual formation and education for the masses back in the 19th and 20th centuries penned a prayer that seems to capture well the character of Christ for those of us serious about chasing after Him day after day. He prayed:
“I will this day try to live a simple, sincere, and serene life; repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike trust in God.”
It seems Vincent captured well and understood what Paul alluded to when he wrote:
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)
A new soul springs to life within as we chase after the Lord with a “childlike trust” that unravels the mysteries of life and opens our yes to see God pursing us with a love than never ceases. Happy New Year! Enjoy your new soul!