Matthew 10:27 - Do not fear those who are able to kill the body but who are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear the one who is able to kill both body and soul in Gehenna.
Who is able to kill both body and soul? Why does the soul seem more important here than the body? What does it mean to kill a soul? How does one kill a soul? Does the body necessarily have to die? What/Where is the place Jesus is referring to by "Gehenna."
Now, we often take this to mean - fear the devil. Yet, as someone whose own soul was slipping away, I think there is much more than just the devil to fear. Fear those things and/or those people that do not support life. Not just bodily life, but soul life as well. What kinds of things are those?
Attitudes, withholding help from others, incorrect assessments of harm, evil, the rationalizations that support evil, those who support actively doing harm to the least of these, policies and systems that destroy rather than build up. In short, the world. Not only should we fear these things, we should work against them to the best of our ability. We need to understand them. THis is very much a building of a bridge ...
Lots to ponder today as I recover from my cold ...
B
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