GOD HAS PLANS FOR YOU THUS HE WANTS YOU PRESERVED
Something within you has fought to preserve your life from the moment you arrived.
But here is the deeper question:
Preserve your life—for what?
CHOOSE TO LIVE…THE LIFE-GIVER DOES THE REST
Self-preservation is one of the most powerful—and sometimes overused or underused—forces within every human being.
It is more than a passing feeling. At its core, it is a survival response: a built-in determination to protect and preserve life.
But take note.
We are not here merely to preserve the body. Our emotional well-being and spiritual life also need protection, nourishment, and purpose.
All must be fed if the whole person is to flourish.
WORTHY NOTE
The body has its own 911 system.
It can respond to danger in the twinkling of an eye. Heartbeat changes. Muscles prepare. Attention sharpens. The emergency system goes to work before we have time to hold a committee meeting.
The system works.
But fear can also “inter-fear” with performance.
Fear may warn us when danger is real, but uncontrolled fear can convince us that every doorway contains a tiger.
WHAT IS SO UNIQUE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT?
We already know that human beings want to survive.
The deeper question is:
What are we surviving for?
If life is only about eating, drinking, acquiring, and being merry, eventually that philosophy caves in on itself.
“I’m stuffed.”
“I’ve had enough.”
“No more, please.”
Pleasure has its place, but pleasure repeated endlessly does not automatically produce purpose.
We are being preserved for something deeper—something carrying meaning—and we may need much of our lives to discover it.
Question this.
CONSIDER THE SUBJECT OF DEATH
Every living thing struggles to arrive, develop, survive, and continue.
Then, at some point, the life process changes direction.
That mystery has caused scientists, philosophers, theologians, and ordinary people to ask questions throughout human history.
Why are we given such a powerful desire to live when earthly life is temporary?
Was human life intended to teach, prepare, reveal, or transform something within us?
I cannot place the entire mystery inside a neat little box—and neither can anybody else—but it is fascinating and worthy of consideration.
WE ARE NOT BRIEFED BEFORE WE COME HERE
Nobody arrives carrying an instruction manual titled:
HERE IS WHO YOU ARE, WHY YOU ARE HERE, AND EXACTLY WHAT TO DO NEXT.
We discover as we journey.
We grow, mature, stumble, recover, and begin asking:
Who am I?
What am I doing here?
Where am I going?
Why does my life matter?
How should I use the time I have?
The right question can move us closer to the right answer.
There is something within mankind that urges us to become more than we presently are.
WORTHY NOTE: Your existence—your being here—is not something to treat casually.
THE PERSONAL REASON FOR DRIVE
There must be something within this brief time on Earth for each of us to discover.
“But Richie, what could that be?”
That question may be the beginning of the answer making its way toward you.
Notice how purpose unfolds as you live.
It may change its clothing as you mature, but the question seldom disappears completely.
WORTHY NOTE: The riddle of your existence—the reason for you—deserves your attention.
THE GIANT SIFTING MACHINE
Suppose life is something like a giant sifting machine.
Experiences pass through it.
Successes, failures, pleasures, disappointments, relationships, mistakes, losses, recoveries, and second chances all get shaken around.
What remains?
Perhaps wisdom.
Perhaps character.
Perhaps faith.
Perhaps the discovery of what matters and what merely made noise.
Is that outlandish?
Why?
We sift many things to separate what is valuable from what is not. Perhaps life also sifts us—revealing what we believe, whom we love, and what we are becoming.
WHO DOES THE SIFTING?
We do—or we do not.
Each person decides whether to examine life, evolve, achieve, serve, and live abundantly—or ignore the questions and remain exactly where they are.
That does not make human worth dependent upon achievement. It means growth requires participation.
Life provides the lessons.
We decide whether to learn.
NOT MERELY INTELLECTUAL GROWTH
Education and knowledge matter, but I am speaking about something beyond information.
I am speaking about spiritual principles and spiritual growth.
The possessions of the body eventually return to the Earth.
The spirit answers to something higher.
The body belongs to time.
The soul keeps asking about eternity.
TROUBLE FOR MANKIND
Have you ever gotten yourself into something and wondered:
“How did I get into this mess?”
We all have.
Most of us also needed someone to help us climb out of something we had fallen into.
Nobody reaches where they are entirely without the help of another person.
The person determined to preserve only himself may eventually discover that preservation also depends upon community, compassion, guidance, and grace.
Sometimes saving yourself includes allowing someone else to help.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH SELF-PRESERVATION?
Protect your life—but do not make protection your entire life.
Preserve your health so you can serve.
Preserve your strength so you can contribute.
Preserve your mind so you can understand.
Preserve your spirit so temporary troubles do not determine your eternal values.
We are allowed to explore, experience, enjoy, and test the possibilities before us.
But to what purpose?
If there is no purpose beyond satisfying the same desires repeatedly, the rewards eventually become repetitions of themselves.
Life is more.
That more is why you are here.
It is personal. Some will ignore it and live their allotted time however they choose. Others sense that they are answering a call from something greater.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE
Self-preservation asks:
“How do I remain alive?”
Purpose asks:
“What will I do with the life being preserved?”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Survival keeps the light burning.
Purpose decides where that light will shine.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Protect the gift of life—but do not hide the gift away.
Use it.
Develop it.
Share it.
Answer the questions while you can, before time supplies its final answer:
Time’s up.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you