How Goes Your Soul?
“I know that it is well with your soul.” – 3 John 2-8
How is it with your soul today?
That’s the question John Wesley used two centuries ago when he developed a new way of being Christian, eventually called Methodism. His followers met in “class meetings,” small gatherings led by lay people that focused on the spiritual disciplines of prayer, support, study, and accountability. It was the 18th century version of the small group, peer counseling experience.
It was also a profound way to help people grow in their relationship with God. At the beginning of each meeting, every person in the group would be asked, “How is it with your soul?”
We measure our lives in all kinds of ways—the hours we work, the salary we earn, the grades we (or our children) make, the time we spend at the gym. Businesses and other organizations focus on “best practices” or “quality control.”
But how do assess the most important relationship of our lives, our relationship with God? John Wesley’s question, based on this passage from the Third Letter of John, is a good place to start.
So how is it with your soul today? Your mind may be filled with lists of things to do or problems to solve. Your heart may be brimming with new life or breaking with sorrow. But how is it with your soul? Whatever the day may bring or has brought, how are you experiencing God in this time?
How can you deepen that experience?
How is it with your soul this day?
Prayer
Strengthen my soul, O God, and make it well this day. Amen.
About the AuthorTalitha Arnold is Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe (UCC), Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the author of Mark Part 1 and Mark Part 2 of the Listen Up! Bible Study series and Worship for Vital Congregations.