What is it?
May 6, 2026
A few times every year, someone asks me to describe a soul. I like John Ortberg’s description: The soul is the deepest part of a person—the integrating center of life that holds together our will (which includes moral accountability), mind (which includes a flow of experienced thoughts and feelings), and body (which mostly runs by habit) into a single, whole being. The will chooses, the mind thinks, and the body acts
The soul integrates these three elements.
Ortberg offers a bit more help: Souls need nine things to satisfy their longing for wholeness, purpose, and alignment with the divine life:
Connection with God
Gratitude
Hope
Rest
Freedom
Purity
Integrity
Community
Vocation
Ortberg’s pastoral concern is that many people live “dis-integrated” lives—fragmented, hurried, and spiritually dry. Caring for the soul invariably involves:
Slowing down
Seeking rest in God
Living with integrity and gratitude
Cultivating spiritual disciplines that nourish the soul
I think John Ortberg is right.
Blessings,
Tim