Soul Mate or Sole Mate?

Monday Devotion

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:13

Well over two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato surmised that a perfect human being was tragically split in two, resulting in a race of creatures sentenced to spend the rest of their lives searching for that missing other who can complete them.

Thus was created the notion of the “soul mate.”

Despite its bizarre historical underpinnings, the notion of a soul mate has rooted itself in our culture, inspiring countless movies, novels, and Top 40 songs.  One Rutgers University study found that 94 percent of people in their twenties say that the first requirement in a spouse is being such a soul mate.  Just as surprising, 87 percent think they’ll actually find that person “when they are ready.”  A culture suspicious of God has nevertheless brazenly embraced some sort of forceful and intelligent destiny that brings two lovelorn souls together!