The Progression of Soul begins at bottom left. A man struggles to pull his mule back onto the “straight and narrow path.” The mule symbolizes that stubborn, rebellious streak in all of us. The man symbolizes the spiritual nature. Superman appears on the man’s shirt, a picture of a modern day Messiah. The adjacent captions read “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” and “To begin your journey, find your mystical friend.” This refers to the spiritual awakening necessary for the progression of soul.
The progression of soul begins with the recognition that we have strayed and the willingness to accept correction. We must trust that Messianic presence stirring awake in our hearts, that “Mystical Friend” who invites us to walk with Him in one accord.
The next phase of the journey involves a spiritual evolution, a transformation from the carnal nature into the divine nature. The apes transforming into a man on the straight and narrow path picture this. The caption “Then he woke up” appears juxtaposed a hand pointing to the sky. A man stares into heaven, suggesting epiphany, an awakening to “listen for your calling.” The path progresses further through “prayer, gratitude, sacrifice, following your inner voice, and reaching out,” all characteristics of the advanced stages of spiritual maturity and indicative of a person who understands his or her calling.
The straight and narrow path concludes with the man and the mule running the race “with eternity in view.” Rather than the carnal nature resisting the pull of the spiritual, the man now controls the mule’s reins and they effortlessly glide together, propelled by the Holy Spirit. The man stands on the caption Isaiah 40:31, which states: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint” (Isa 40:31).
The translation of the word “renew” in the previous scripture would be better rendered “exchange.” Those who wait on the Lord exchange their human strength for divine strength. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to not only rein in the carnal nature but also to “keep moving” without tire.
The parallel scene in the background depicts this dynamic relationship in Christ. A woman leads a charge of stallions, a picture of the spiritual nature guiding the carnal “beast” nature from the front. A color-coded message appears upon the horses. Reading from red to black, the message states: “When you empower people… you get powerful results.” The Holy Spirit empowers the believer through the divine channel of faith. We exchange our strength for God’s power. We wait on His deliverance to move through us as electricity through a circuit.
An elongated “FREEDOM” banner appears under the Statue of Liberty. A seductive she-devil lies across the caption, as if to tempt the viewer to use freedom as a license for sin. God created mankind and endowed us with free will because freedom is a necessary component of Love. He could have established humanity as a race of mindless robots incapable of failure, creatures that obey without question. He could have ingrained in us an inexorable sense of blind devotion, an innate proclivity for worship that comes as natural as eating or sleeping. But this runs contrary to His Loving character. He gave us free will with the foreknowledge that sin would follow. But as a parent, having your children trust you is of infinite more value than blind obedience. Though tempted and prone to failure, we are refined into the image of Christ through Trust. It is faith that overcomes the world. The text above the she-devil states, “Overcoming the cosmos diabolicus.” The cosmos diabolicus refers to Satan’s worldly system as an alternative to God. The answer to how to overcome this system traces back to faith and is provided in 1 John 5:5- “Who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” The man riding the bull punctuates the theme of freedom, while the caption, “It’s what you believe inside” emphasizes faith.
A rainbow curls around the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of God’s covenant with Noah (Gen 9:13). Rather than ending in a pot of gold, however, the rainbow dispenses cash into the hands of a sponge. Money rains from heaven and drifts into the smiling sponge’s outstretched palms. Sponges are known for their absorbent quality, and the principle here is that one must have capacity to receive blessing in order to prosper under God’s grace. Prosperity is one of the greatest tests of faith for the mature believer: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25).
For those who recognize their spiritual poverty, money symbolizes an aspect of freedom. God provides above all that we ask or think according to the Power that works in us (Eph 3:20). The Christ-centered believer is never in want (Ps 23:1). Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing (Ps 34:10). But money entraps the self-righteous individual. It becomes a snare, a source of bondage and tool of Satan for those without adequate grace capacity to receive: “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim 6:10)—notice, not money itself, but the love of money.
A rabbit plays the piano at bottom right. A bottle of water appears in the background labeled, “Spirit Power.” A fish is pasted upon the front. The fish is an ancient mystical symbol for Christ. Water represents the Holy Spirit: “…out of his (the believer’s) heart will flow rivers of living water… this He (Christ) spoke concerning the Spirit” (Jn 7:38-39). The Holy Spirit is always pictured as flowing, moving, vibrant, and alive. Thus, the man running the race states, “Keep it moving,” and the caption next to the rabbit reads, “forgiveness and water keeps life moving forward.”
A nymph sits on the ledge of a building at upper left, adjacent to an ethereal silhouette of a man playing guitar. A busy concentration of text communicates an eclectic array of messages that underscore the predominant caption: “Aware that this whole world is on overload.” Are you aware the earth is on overload and ready to burst? The planet dies but the music plays on. The signs are everywhere—such as with the airplane in the sky that pulls the “change the world” banner—but nobody notices. Man continues in his spiritual slumber.
In an upside-down world in which penguins fly, super heroes ride horses and male and female identity roles have become androgynous, believers remain encapsulated in the divine grace bubble, protected in the rat-race toward the future. We “keep moving,” propelled by the Spirit and led by Christ. We stay within the lines of the crosswalk, that straight and narrow path, fully alert and awake to the voice of God upon our hearts. We walk the straight and narrow path with the freedom to stray, but the inspiration and desire to please Him who called us out of darkness. May Christ bless the reader of this message and implant His personal impression upon the heart.
Larry Word
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