Today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.  Because of God’s great power and mercy, we are able to ask a question that we know the answer to:  “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).  Death was not able to sting nor the grave able to claim victory.  Amen!

In the weeks leading up to Easter, one theme has emerged from different places and angles for me.  That theme is the soul.  As I think about Easter and the theme of the soul, I think the lesson these past few weeks has been to realize that I have life—a soul—because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  More importantly, Jesus’ triumph over the grave affords me the opportunity to say, “It is well with my soul!”

John Ortberg explains the soul in this manner:  “The soul is the life. Your soul is what integrates your will (all those choices), your mind (your thoughts, your desires), and your body (with its appetites and its habits) into a single, whole person.”

As Ortberg notes, once you understand that the soul is life, it makes scripture come alive in an exciting way.  Consider, for example, the Psalmist who says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”  The soul encompasses all of who I am–it is the full integration of my will, mind, and body.  This is why the Psalmist wants his soul to bless the Lord–for all parts of him to do so and not just the mind or just the body or just the will.

Admittedly, I have not always embraced the idea that it is well with my soul.  In fact, these last few weeks have been full of moments of doubt.  I’ve asked myself why I’ve faced certain challenges–ones that seem unfair and overly burdensome.  Oh how easy it is to mock the idea that anyone would say “It is well with my soul” as they try to live life on a daily basis.  Don’t they know how hard it is?!

And then I am reminded that Jesus knows how hard it is.  The account of His crucifixion in Matthew 27 tells us that he was mocked and insulted as He hung on a cross for wrongs He did not commit.  All of this so that He could unite us with our heavenly Father–to be accepted despite our own mockery, insulting behavior, and wrongdoing.

The soul is life.  The soul’s satisfaction is found in Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.  In speaking about Psalm 23, Ortberg notes that the Psalmist says that God restores his soul.  Ortberg says, “I can’t fix my soul; I can only make space for it to be healed by God.”

Friends, Jesus’ resurrection has made a way for such healing to take place.  May our souls find rest in the victory over the grave!  Let us sing out the words of the old hymn: “Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul!”