Theologically speaking, Mr. Soulcase should probably be named ‘Mr. Spiritcase” but it just doesn’t have the same ring. The Bible says in Corinthians 2 verse 11:
For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
People without faith in Jesus have a tough time both in this earth and after. It’s a bad deal but people seem to have an easier time living in a state of confusion and bitterness than they do bowing their knee to their Creator and making a few slight adjustments to live life His way.
But moving on to Mr. Soulcase.
Mr. Soulcase came from a quick conversation I had with my mom. You see, we recently received news that my aunt (her sister) suddenly passed away. In fact, at the point of typing this post, it is still unknown exactly what happened except that she had fallen and hit her head about a month ago and experts suspect these two events are connected. When I called mom to check in on her (she had jumped on the next plane to her city) she explained something interesting. The part she is struggling with most is when the folks at the hospital discuss with her ‘releasing the body’. She is having a hard time speaking about her sister in terms of a ‘body’. This is her sister, you see… or was… or is… or was…
You see the conundrum.
For me, however, I have been reading my Bible – and so had been this same Auntie. In fact, we had spoken on this topic of death on an occasion or two. You see, Auntie Dianne was a believer. She had made Jesus her Lord and Saviour. And so had her husband before he passed a few years back.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
That’s what it says in 1 Corinthians 15:55.
Death has lost its power.
The grave cannot hold us back.
Life has prevailed over death, by the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Mr. Suitcase (the thing you take with you to the airport) is made of an earthly material. The elements of the earth make up his fabric and was designed and manufactured with a purpose in mind: to carry our important goods from A to B on our journey. Functionally speaking, this is pretty simple stuff, but if you’d like an instruction manual, here you go:
- manufacture suitcase
- open suitcase
- insert contents
- close suitcase
- begin journey/travels
- toss suitcase at end of life
Mr. Soulcase is much the same. But, if you haven’t figured out my clever analogy yet, I’m going to now reveal the secret! Ready kids??
–>Mr. Soulcase is your body!! <—
…Mama don’t raise no dummies….
The DNA and material that makes up your body is designed by the God of the Bible. He thought you up before you realized you mattered (some of you still don’t). He knows every last hair on your head. From before conception, you were planned out. The only difference between a baby in the womb and a baby outside the womb is the puncture of a water bag. Life begins long before the first wail of an offspring. Don’t believe me, though. Ask a pregnant woman how those kicks feel.
Then your body was born. This was the beginning of your journey.
Unfortunately, like a Mr. Suitcase, Mr. Soulcase also wears out and/or gets damaged. The earth, thanks to ol’ Adam and Eve, is currently not in a state of perfection as it was in the Garden of Eden, so the forces of nature are working against us. Eventually, after a long enough journey, or an unexpected accident, the casing can no longer function.
And so Mr. Soulcase goes back to the earth from whence he came.
Try as hard as you’d like. Use as much technology as you can find, but there comes a point when Mr. Soulcase gets retired from his duties here on earth and there ain’t nothing that no force on earth can do about it.
And it’s at this point – when the spirit of a man departs from its Soulcase – when the arrogant humans sit quietly and ponder their most obvious frailty.
Before that, however, they are quite noisy, stubborn, arrogant, and more. Some are so lost in their arrogance that they think themselves to be God (talk to Shirley Maclaine and most of the deceived pop culture about that). You’ll note, however, this kind of garbage only comes out of affluent societies… but that’s another story.
But not when Mr. Soulcase gets retired for good. Then, and sometimes only then, we realize just how important this message of the Gospel is and we think about its implications:
- is Jesus really the *only* way to heaven?
- is there a God?
- is there a heaven?
- is there a hell?
- what is going to happen to me when my Soulcase retires?
- and when will this happen?
I write this post to encourage you to stop what you are doing and consider your short little life. I seriously don’t care how much money you have, whether you are the president of the world (is there such a position yet?) or how hot you are.
Your Soulcase is going to get old, ugly and then finally get retired for good.
I encourage you to stop what you are doing and realize that only One person has defeated death and His name is Jesus. And there is only one way to go into life eternal with him – Obey Him entirely (not just on Christmas, Easter and every thirty-fifth Sunday).
Auntie Dianne, I look forward greatly to joining you at my appointed time in the kingdom of our Holy God. Thanks for holding true to Jesus and the faith throughout the years! Your planted seeds will grow a crop.
