January 2003

Physicians and psychologists have many resources with which to assess our physical and mental health. But, what about our spiritual health? Is there any way to assess the health of our soul?

Some would measure it by church attendance, or adherence to a moral code or standard of orthodoxy. These are good as far as they go. But, they don’t go far enough. They don’t reach to the heart of the matter.

Following the teaching of Jesus, C.S. Lewis reminds us that our spiritual health is exactly proportional to our love for God.1 The spiritually healthy soul is the one who is seeking to love God wholeheartedly. Lewis tells us that “we shall not be well so long as we love and admire anything more than we love and admire God.”2 This love is not simply a matter of feeling or sentiment. Rather it is, as Lewis puts it, “an appetite for God.” It is a desire for him above all else in life. And this desire is manifested in a joyful submission to his word in daily life.

What do you love most in life? What do you desire most deeply? When we discern the answer to these questions, we will better know the state of our spiritual health.

God of grace and truth, search our hearts, reveal our deepest loves,
and lead us in the way everlasting.
Amen.