Isaiah 52:15 (AMP)
“For that which had not been told them they will see,
And that which they had not heard they will understand.”

I am sitting at my desk in the middle of a workday.
The window in front of me opens to the view behind my building, grass, shops, a few trees and the gentle light of a day that feels set apart. I thank God.

Views have always mattered to me.
They quiet me.
They lift me.
They remind me that there is always more beyond what I can see.
They pull me into beauty, into light, into reflection.
And today, they pull me toward The Sacrifice.

I just finished reading a portion of Isaiah 52 and chapter 53.
I’ve read it before, but today, my spirit paused on something I hadn’t lingered with until now: His soul.

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed…” (Isaiah 53:10)

“He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied…” (Isaiah 53:11)

People don’t often speak about the soul.
We talk about behaviors, habits, healing, goals, customs
but the soul?

The soul is the part of us that holds His breath.
The very breath He gave in the beginning.
The part Jesus came to redeem.

“Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and the man became a living being [an individual complete in body and spirit].”
— Genesis 2:7 (AMP)

We become living souls because of Him. Jesus gave His soul—His will, His mind, His emotional being—so that ours could be restored. Not just to free us from what we’ve done, but to break the bondage of sin. We are living souls because of Him.

Of Paper and Light has been in the works over the past few weeks, I had imagined launching it sometime soon.

It simply took me by surprise that it would land during Holy Week, with the first blog going live on Easter Sunday—Resurrection Sunday. But God is always intentional. He knew all of this before I did, and I trust His timing more than mine.

This space has been stirring in me for years.
But in recent months, and especially this week, I’ve felt the weight of what it means to no longer keep it to myself.

Not because I’ve mastered anything.
Not because I planned for this moment.
But because God has entrusted me with this gift.
And in His time, He’s called me to share it.
He tells us not to bury what He gives.
He tells us to be fruitful, to multiply, to pour it out.

This offering, these words, this space: this is my yes.

Some may call it a gift
Some may say it’s a calling
My goal is to fall in obedience
I want His will to be done through me

Whether you’re reading every word or only simply pausing for a moment, thank you.

If this is your first time thinking about the soul (or yours), or if your heart has been rendered to The Truth
just know: your soul matters to Him.

It mattered enough for Jesus to carry His to the Cross.
To be led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7).

To be buried among the wicked and remain without sin, blameless (Isaiah 53:9).
To suffer, to bleed, and to offer, not just His body, but His soul, for yours.

So today, and in every post after this,
this is what I hope shines through: The Light of Jesus, in presence, and in truth.

Welcome to this beginning

May you walk in His light always

– Jivean, Of Paper and Light

The Sacrifice: When Light Meets the Soul