Did you exist before you existed?
Is this such an ambiguous question? What do you mean? Are you saying that I have always been here, that I have existed for all of time?
There is a sense that there is more to life than what we know. We experience the world through our senses. We see, hear, touch, taste and smell. We also live our lives through what we feel and think. Our emotions and thoughts attempt to perceive what is happening around us.
Our bodies are a tool with which we get to be part of living on earth.
I’ve been told stories of young children whispering to small infants, “Tell me what it’s like. I can’t remember.” What are they asking about? What do they want to know?
They are asking the soul of the infant what it was like to be in perfect communion with God. They want to know about the soul’s life with God before He sent them to enter a human body.
Now I’m not sure if you agree with this, but I am sharing a Jewish belief that everybody’s soul has existed for all of eternity. Then, by God’s ordained time, God sends the soul to be joined with a body. The moment of conception within the womb of the mother.
I can’t help but think about the Matrix movie when I think of this Jewish belief. There was the Matrix, where people supposedly went about their daily lives. Ignorance was truly bliss. But this was not the real world.
Now I know you cannot compare this belief to the Matrix. That would be wrong (as my conscience says to me anyway). Yet, is there that possibility that we existed beyond time and space, for something much bigger? That’s the big question to ask (especially when we meet God beyond death and have a lot of questions to ask Him!).
Whatever the case, in the participation of my Torah Club studies, I love the concept that we are on a journey in this world. A journey from being selfish to becoming selfless.
The journey:
We are born into selfishness. We are purely focused on our own needs and wants. You only have to look at a two-year-old to work that one out. But, over time (and a long time I might add!), we begin to think about the best interests of those around us.
Our parents are the ones ordained to help us on this journey towards selflessness. They help us to think about other family members and what they might be thinking or feeling. Parents have a huge responsibility! As the Torah says, obey God and obey your parents. Their task is to bring us up in the ways of the Lord - love God and love others.
Parenting is one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding roles in our lives! I know in my own life, the Lord is stretching and moulding me as I bring up my children. Selflessness and parenting go hand in hand.
What does selflessness mean to you? How has selflessness been reflected in your own life?
If we were with God before we were conceived, then why did He bring us into the world? What was the purpose of us leaving God to live in a body?
Through the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we see God’s plan to bring the spiritual and physical together. This is the ultimate redemption of His world (in the world to come). His plan has always been to bring us together holistically. We are beings who are physically and spiritually intertwined.
And, of course, by being here, we only know Him in part, and not fully, as we will know Him in the future. Because of this, we choose to love and obey Him. In this world, we decide to love Him, or not. This is part of that journey of self-centredness to giving of ourselves to others.
Life is a journey. A journey of body and soul knitted together. A journey of learning to have empathy and give sacrificially.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to their own interests but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians chapter 2, verses 3-4)
Fiona Murray has a passion for telling stories, both real and fictional, to engage the reader in the greatest hope of all, Jesus Christ. She has been a primary school teacher, teacher aide, personnel administrator for a mission organization and financial assistant for a community trust, all of which has grown her love for detail and creativity. Fiona is also undertaking further theology study to enhance her writing. She is married to Alan, and they live in Selwyn, Canterbury (NZ) with their children.