One thing that we humans struggle to attain is a balance in life. All too often, we tilt way too much in one direction. And because of this, it throws us off – we are not able to move along in our life the way God intended for us to move along. We move along like a bicycle that has a bent tire…it circles fine until that part of the tire has to come around and go through the bike forks. There is a constant “thump, thump, thump” as the bent part hits the forks. Why is that? Because the tire is out of balance…it is bent in an area. And when we are out of balance, our entire life, yea, our spirituality continues to go thump, thump, thump!
May I submit to you an image? It is probably an image you are quite familiar with. It is part of the world-renowned drawing by Leonardo da Vinci called the Vitruvian Man.
It was reportedly drawn in the year 1487. The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man.
It is stored in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally. The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture. Other artists had attempted to depict this concept, with less success. Leonardo’s drawing is traditionally named in honour of the architect; hence, the Vitruvian man. The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole.
Do you feel like you are living a balanced AND proportionate life? Ours ought to be a life of symmetry and order. You cannot but walk into this great creation to realize that our Creator is but a God of great order and symmetry. In other words, things in creation relate to one another. There is a balance in all of creation.
The God whom we serve…the God whom we love…the God whom we worship…the God whom we give our allegiance to…the God whom we strive to please wants you and I to live a life in balance with our spirit and soul and body. And in THAT order!
Order is important to God. Most things that are wrong in this world are good things out of order. For instance, take the subject of money…money is a good thing that has been used in the wrong order. The best way to use money is to save and then buy…not buy and then pay and pay and pay! Take our financial situation in the world…much of the world has HUGE financial debts due to the buy now, pay later mentality. Ever increasing deficits come from spending more than what we have – that comes from borrowing. There is nothing wrong with money but when we use it in the wrong order,both individuals and nations are placed into very difficult times.
God is a God of order and balance. If you study this marvelous creation that He made, you will find that “He has made every thing beautiful in his time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) When one views a masterful piece of art, he not only is amazed at the piece itself, but also at the artist. When one views masterful architecture, he is not enjoys the beautiful structure, but is awed by the architect.
Let’s apply the same logic to our universe…when one views the brilliant order and balance that our universe displays, one cannot but come to the conclusion that there was a Master Designer behind it all!
I believe God would have us lead balanced lives. And that leads me to a very important verse in the Bible. I Thessalonians 5:23 states, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mankind is made in the image of Almighty God (Genesis 1:26). God is comprised of a trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
As God is a triune being, so is man. We have a spirit (the inner person); we have a soul (the outer person made up of our mind, will, and emotions), and we have a body (our tabernacle or dwelling place for the soul and spirit).
Many today emphasize the mind and the body but leave out a very important part of our being. We are not just physical beings. We are spiritual beings in a human body! We are comprised of spirit, soul, and body. In the next few posts, I am going to show you how relevant the order in the above Scripture verse is to be the spiritual person that you ought to be. I would love to read your thoughts on this matter.
spiritually relevant 