Ministering to Broken Souls

     The other day some women and I were sharing our personal struggles and those of our husbands. I took notice that 2 of the husbands and 1 of the women had the same unmet developmental needs, that were still impacting their relationships and inward struggles today. Those struggles stemmed from the absence of unconditional love and acceptance in their formative years.

     That is why I truly believe that the soul of a person is "genderless." Whether we are a male of a female, we still need to know we are loved and accepted as we are, in who we are. God has created us in Him image, and if the preciousness of that given fact, is not communicated to us by the love and acceptance of our care-givers as we grow, then we will still seek that all the days of our lives, in not good ways, many times. Often, if we have not only not been shown this, but in addition, have been raised in a atmosphere of scorn or rejection, ranging anywhere from words of death spoken towards us, to physical abuse or even cruel punishment, than we definately will go into self-destruct mode. I have also noticed that neglect, ranging from just being ignored, or an absentee parent(s), or not given any boundaries can also communicate to the child that they are not cared for, and these things can also result in self-destructive behaviors, including self-hatred.

     I believe that there are many in the Body of Christ today who struggle because of these same things. And, I believe that "Christ in us" can minister Life to the needs of these broken ones. Afterall, He came to "heal the Broken-hearted,"  and we are to be His hands, His feet, and especially His heart. He desires for us who have been raised "whole" to be sensitive to those who are weak, broken, neglected, fearful and insecure, by speaking words of Life to them. I believe that by doing this, the soul that has been torn, male or female, will be healed, layer upon layer. Love heals.  Instead of having disdain and judgement on these "little ones" (as they truly stopped growing emotionally at some point) we can breathe life into their mortal bodies, so to speak. Those dry bones, will come to life, as we bring this ministry to them, showing them the love and acceptance of Christ. They haven't been able to believe it because of the rejection that was first put in them, growing up, which broke their soul. God wants us to let Christ heal souls through us. This is but another way Christ can be lifted up in our lives, and gain the glory!