What is our true state of existence? Are we bodies that cease to exist after death? Or are we physical beings possessing a soul? Or maybe the reality is are we souls temporarily inhabiting a body? I got to thinking after reading this line from Dallas Willard:

I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.

This sentence takes a minute to unpack. We are indeed unceasing spiritual beings. We will never stop existing from this point on. Our souls never wear out or disappear. We each have an eternal destiny. Be it a life without end in the presence of the Lord, or an endless lonely forever. Either fortune or grim fate awaits.

God’s great universe speaks to the incomprehensible nature of the new heaven and new earth ushered in on the return of Jesus. In our true state, we will thrive in the midst of God’s glorious plan for us.

The Apostle Paul laid out the basis for such theological perspectives: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

CS Lewis wrote a stunning paragraph stemming from this idea in his book, The Weight of Glory:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

Our true state? Extraordinary, immortal wonders, created to give glory and honor for ever and ever to the Lord, our eternal King. When we worry about who we are, it’s good to remember who God made us to be.

1 Timothy 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Greg Rakozy