SoulShift #2: Slave to Child

I was reluctant to even begin reading the next chapter because I still have work to do to on the previous soul shift. However, nobody wants to wait three years for a book review, and I imagine that as individuals read SoulShift, different shifts will impact more or less deeply depending upon one’s experience.

The writing regarding the slave to child soul shift used forms of the word “know” frequently, as in “knowing you are a child.” Two ideas struck me as I read this chapter. First, this shift seems to be an amalgam, but I am not saying that is a bad thing. If I were to read Romans looking for soul shifts, I would have probably found, among others, these two: slave of sin to slave of righteousness and child of wrath to child of God. DeNeff and Drury created a more powerful picture of transformation by making the shift be slave of sin to child of God. This reminded me of Ben-Hur going from galley slave to adopted son of Arrius.

The second idea that came to me as I read this chapter was that there is a difference between head knowledge and experiential knowledge. We do not know what happened the day after the prodigal son returned home. Even though he was accepted as a son, he had the choice when he woke up the next day to either go work with his brother or work with the slaves.

Something that effects anyone involoved in church, and pastors especially is ministry guilt. How do I say, “No” to something that is both my job and calling without feeling guilty? The answer is that I am not God’s or the church’s slave; I am a child. I do not expect my daughter to do everything. God has high expectations of me, but he made me just one part of the body of Christ.

There are benefits and responsibilities of being adopted. I have a story similar to David Drury’s. After I graduated high school, my mother came to me and said, “I know we didn’t do much for your graduation. Is there anything you wanted that you didn’t get?” I hesitated at first, but finally admitted that I wanted a CD player. At this time CDs were still new and expensive technology. We got in the car, drove to Circuit City, and my mom bought me the best CD player they had. I was blown away! Blessings come with being a child, and so does responsibility. A slave can run away. In fact, we can make a case that a slave should run away if he/she can, but a child is never supposed to run away. A slave strives for freedom, a child is already free. A slave strives for respect, a child is simply loved

Among other things, I experientially know that I am a husband, father, and seminarian, because every day I passionately do activities in these roles, and I see the fruit of my labor. This chapter left me to answer the question, What do I passionately do every day that says I am a child of God?

My reflections as I read through SoulShift by Steve DeNeff and David Drury.