The title of today’s guest post may surprise those of you who remember my article entitled, What If Your Soul Mate Doesn’t Exist?But before you make any assumptions about today’s post, let me first introduce you to the author.I was recently introduced to Dr. Laurel Shaler, a professor and chair at Liberty University in the Department of Counselor Education and Family Studies. She is a licensed social worker and national certified counselor, and speaks/writes on the intersection of faith, culture, and emotional well-being. She is a sassy southerner married to a midwestern sailor. They are adopting! You can find her at www.drlaurelshaler.com or Facebook (www.facebook.com/drlaurelshaler) or Twitter (@DrLaurelShaler).
I used to compete in pageants. Because…pretty gowns, flashy jewelry, and hairspray. In my very first pageant for married ladies (yes, that is a thing), one of the contestants was asked if she believed in soul mates. Her answer won her the pageant (that and the fact that she was 8 feet tall, a buck nothing, and blond). But, seriously, her answer was spot on as she shared what the expression “soul mate” meant to her.
When you hear the term “soul mate”, what do you think of? The one person God has created just for you? (PSA, that’s not in the Bible.) But, most people think of just that…another human being must be their soul mate. Listen, my husband is the best friend I’ve ever had. He is loving and devoted. I completely trust him and know we will be married as long as we both shall live. But. He’s not my soul mate.
Psalm 84:2 says, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
You see, having a soul mate is a real thing. But, our soul mate is Jesus. He is the one my soul desires. He is the one my soul longs for. He is the one my soul waits for. To be in His presence, knowing that He is the only perfect One. The only one who will never disappoint and always love without condition. The only one who will always be there for me, no matter what.
When we try to place another human being in the role as our soul mate, we set that person up for failure and we sell our relationship with the Lord short. We should never place another human being in a status position about the living God, regardless of how much we love each other. It’s not right or fair or just. Jesus is superior to everything and everyone we will encounter, and is worth our soul commitment.
Oh, you know that beauty who won the pageant I was telling you about? Yeah, she totally told the audience and judges that Jesus is her soul mate. She rocked the stage that day, and deserved that crown….as much as I hate to admit it.
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