What is that holy, authentic personality? What is personality as seen through God’s eyes?
Most would agree that each soul is unique. At least those who haven’t been totally brainwashed by today’s culture and have not given themselves entirely over to their animal nature.
Our souls are like the seeds of different grapes planted and nurtured in different soils and climates, producing a variety of flavors.
Generated directly by God, our souls represent a different aspect of his light and form a corresponding and unique relationship with God—just as children do with their parents.
Beginning with this unrepeatable act of God—the creation creation of our souls—our personalities are cultivated by a number of forces throughout the course of our lives.
That is to say, our souls, like seeds, are ripened and cultivated by the light and warmth of others’ love, the gentle rain of their kindness, their labor and sacrifices and many other acts.
Some souls don’t get enough sun, some get too much. Some are cut off by freezing temperatures or to cool of a love and others dry out and shrivel from lack kindness and care.
The result is some are sweet, sour, bitter, heavy, light and every variation imaginable—representing a combination of forces working on the divine seed within us.
Because we have a spiritual soul, we have to take up our life with God if we want to ripen and develop to our full potential. Our souls were created to germinate into an eternal life, bringing a distinct glory to God and a supreme satisfaction to ourselves.
A holy, authentic personality, then, is formed by the soul’s complete return and abandonment to God’s care, direction and providence while still living on earth.
The soul must actively participate in making the ground of its being holy. That is, purified of sins that choke off our vital connection with God and acquiring the essential nutrients needed for orderly, unhindered growth.
A space must be cleared in one’s soul or psyche to receive God properly and fully. That space must be emptied of purely human interests: ambition, the love of others’ praise, an inflated self-esteem, selfish indulgences of all kinds.
Humility and thanksgiving, spurred by the knowledge that our life is God’s gift and we had nothing to do with our creation, put us in a good disposition to encounter God.
A humble and grateful disposition makes it possible for God to connect with us. If we are full of ourselves, then there’s obviously no room for him to enter our lives. We must develop a refined spiritual palate for the things of God.
Life is not about you or me. It’s originally about God, the One who gave life to all. And yet, God in his great love, wants it to be about you and him. He wants to see us grow and mature according to the divine seed he planted within us. He wants these spectacular displays of his love – glory and light – to emanate from each one of us. He wants to delight in his creatures, in all of his creation.
Unfortunately, once we take things into our own hands, we try to make little gods of ourselves fashioned in our narrow, limited view of things. We want the adoration and worship of others. We even worship ourselves at times. We are all out of balance and make life miserable for ourselves and others.
God wants to give us so much more than we know and understand, but we seldom find out because we are always trying to control things and create our own kingdom.
We must absolutely take the time to get to know God. When we really see what He is all about, then we will love him. And loving him, we can come to possess his Divine Life fully operating in our lives here and now. With that Divine Life, we will experience all the benefits and riches that can only come from an infinite and eternal God who created the universe we live in – and the so many marvels that eye has not seen, nor ear heard.
Yet, the greatest show is not on earth. This life here is just the opening act. So let’s not try to make it the end-all, but use it well to prepare and help others prepare for the best that’s yet come: Life forever in the One Who is always doing something new.