Day 31: How Did The Lord God Design Us?
Psalm 139:13–14
For you [LORD] formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Today we return to one of the “tools” that we discussed earlier – the circles that represent our Divine Design as human beings. Having a visual way to think about who we are – both physically and spiritually – well help us illustrate some key ideas that we will be discussing in the coming weeks.
Hopefully the circle illustration below looks familiar to you. We introduced it in Part 1: Recovering the Master Story. One of our main goals is to help you understand and visualize the process of spiritual formation and transformation that Father-God works in Christ through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in us. These circles will help us do that.
Here is a brief review of each of the elements of the diagram:
The Body. The most obvious part about all of us is the fact that we all have a body. When the Lord-God created the first man, one part of him was created from the soil of the ground; this is our physical body. In the picture, the body is represented by the darker, outer circle. The physical body is the “vehicle” for our inner spiritual selves. Our bodies allow us to connect with one another and our physical world.
The Mind. The “Spiritual Organ” that is the “gatekeeper,” “manager,” “gardener” of our inner spiritual selves, particularly the Heart. Your mind is the place where you have access to all your thoughts (ideas, images), emotions and desires.
The Heart. The “Spiritual Organ” that produces our life—our thoughts, feelings, desires, etc. We are not talking about your physical heart. But just as your physical heart pumps blood and life through your physical body, all of our spiritual life flows from our hearts. In biblical terms, your Heart is not just the place of your emotions, it is the deep “spring” of your life—the core of your whole being.
Spiritual, Inner Self. We all know that there is something happening on the “inside”—This is the spiritual part of us. In our illustration, this represented by the white inner circles.
Thoughts. We are guided by our thoughts. We process information from the “outside” in our thoughts. Our thoughts are words, images, sounds, memories, etc. that help us process and make sense of our world. The way we order and organize our thoughts is called logic. Father-God wants our thoughts to be shaped by The Truth.
Emotions. We are moved by our emotions. Our emotions are “movements” that take place very deep within us; in fact, they may be closer to our hearts—the core of who we are—than almost anything else. Our emotions serve as the “barometer” for our hearts. Our emotions give us clues as to what is going on deep within us. Father-God wants our emotions to be shaped by His Goodness.
Desires. We are driven by our desires. Our desires motivate us. We act and think in certain ways because we want to. Our desires are central to who we are and so they are a key part of what makes you a unique individual. Father-God designed our desires to be patterned after His and He wants our desires to be shaped by His Glory.
W—Will. This important part of who you are is the determining factor in your life. Your will gives you the ability to choose.
C—Conscience. We all have a sense of right and wrong. Often this sense does not come to us as a thought, but as more of a feeling—a movement deep with us. Your conscience is shaped by your thoughts and emotions.
P—Passion. There are some desires that drive us deeply. There are some things that we want to do; there are other things that we have to do to feel alive.
Ideas and Images. In almost everything we are going to discuss, it is important to remember that we are influenced and affected by the ideas and images that enter our “inner person” through the doorway of the thoughts.
The “tools” that we are recovering in this session give us a framework for understanding some basic realities of life. These tools are helpful in becoming more AWARE of reality. Cultivating a sense of Awareness is the first stage spiritual growth.
Becoming AWARE.
All that we experience in life is built on the basic attitude and mental posture of being aware of what is really going on around and within us.
Today we want you to study the illustration of our design so that you are familiar with it and can reproduce it. See if you can draw your own version of the circles and think about explaining it to someone else.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
