I first came across the term soulmate in a Simpsons episode with Johnny Cash. I wasn’t quite sure what it meant. Then, I heard it again, when I recalled the Soulmate song by Natasha Bedingfield from the summer of 2007. I tend to get nostalgic about the past. There was nothing particularly special about 2007 in 2007, but now it seems quite magical to me – especially the summer holidays, which we spent in the North of England and North Wales. Another song of that summer was Umbrella. Soulmate emphasizes the desire for a soulmate, Umbrella emphasizes commitment.
These were about romantic soulmates, but soulmates aren’t necessarily about romance. Throughout my life, at various points, I’ve had friends that I was particularly close to. And there might even be people that I wasn’t close friends with who I always felt at ease with.
I asked Microsoft Copilot what a soulmate is. The answer was quite complicated. It seems that there are various opinions on what constitutes a soulmate. And there are a range of soulmate categories. Perhaps it would be simpler to call them friends. Even the word friend can have a range of meanings. I look back and think of all the people who surrounded me throughout my life, in school, work, church, family and so on. Sometimes I’d hang around with people or they might be part of my family. Other times, it would just be chatting for a few minutes, but I have such happy memories of people. I’m a bit of an introvert, but I’d hate to have been Robinson Crusoe. And it’s particularly wonderful when you briefly chat to a stranger and you feel that sense of connection.
Because this is a Christian blog, I should say that Jesus is my soulmate. But the kind of relationship that I have with Jesus differs from what I’d have with other humans. It’s good to remind ourselves that Jesus is human as well as being God – that was the whole point of the incarnation – to become one of us and to die to offer salvation to all of us. And he’s called our friend and brother even though He is our King. That’s a line from the hymn; “As the Deer Pants for the Water”
You're my friend and you are my brother even though you are a king.
I love you more than any other,
So much more than anything.
And here are other hymns that emphasize the friendship of Jesus:
Hibernia Gospel 