Jesus said that His Words were Spirit and Life
In one way, that's a declaration like twice two is four. In another, it's as inscrutable as quantum physics.
This is a sentence on which we can bank our lives. It is a solid rock, on which an eternal kingdom can be founded. It is a simple peace to which we can give ourselves forever. Jesus said that He is Rest to the weary, so we come to Him, and find peace for our fractured souls.
But, what is Spirit, really? And what is Life?
Minutes before saying these words, Jesus said that true work is believing. He said that it was by eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood - taking Him into us - that we are taken into Him. He was uttering nonsense. And now He is making audible words, sound travelling through the air, to be life its very self. Of course, I learned with a little study that the Greek, "rhema," doesn't mean, "words," so much as the things the words embody. "Logos," is for words that verbalize ideas, while, "rhema," represents things. Jesus' words stood in place of things, things like Spirit and Life.
That doesn't help anything, though. The question of what Life and Spirit are remains.
The ancients postulated an ascending order of life, based of self-awareness. A plant knew more about itself than a rock, because the plant could grow toward the sun. An insect knew more about itself than a plant, because it could both seek food, and avoid becoming food. An animal could play, and a human could reason. More importantly, a human seeks opportunity for love, both to give and receive. This sets man at the pinnacle of earth's order of life.
So, what is that sets God above man in the order of life?
We are like God twice over, in that we are made in His image and we have the knowledge of good and evil. And yet, neither of those things elevates us to His level. There must be something else. He created the universe, and created us. That's surely something, but it's not the thing. A dog might look at me, and be amazed that I can move a car, but it's not my power that makes him and me different. It's the creative, engineering mind of the human that separates us.
What is the thing that separates us from God?
It's in His Name.
I AM that I AM.
It's that God has the power to BE.
God wishes to eat? He IS Food. He wishes to rest? He IS the Sabbath. The IS the Blessed One, the Captain, the Water, the Truth, the Creator, the true Friend. God never needs to look outside of Himself. He IS everything He could need in order to attain His every Holy Desire.
So, when Jesus says that His Words are Spirit and Life, He is talking about something of shocking intensity!
He told us that we can eat His Flesh and His Blood, and be grafted into Him. He told us that His Words are Spirit and Life, and that when we believe them we come alive as He is alive. Jesus told us how to come alive in Him. We need only believe to become part of I AM that I AM.
That which God is, in and of Himself, He desires to make us. He desires for us to abide in Him, and to be as He IS.
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As I wrote this, children were playing right beside me. In a little lawn of long unmown grass, a mixed herd of 3-8 year olds ran back and forth. I could throw a brick from one end of this lawn to the other - left handed - on one foot. It's a teeny, green postage stamp on this massive globe of ours, and at one side it sloped downward a little bit. Three of the kids ran to the bottom of the slope, giggling and nattering the whole way.
One little toe-headed kid was still at the top of this incline, and watching the others and their adventure.
Suddenly, he announced to his brother that, "I'm going to run down there!"
That shout of joy filled my heart. The other kids had already gone first, but that didn't matter. This was his adventure, and he was grabbing it with both hands. In just a couple brief decades, the whole world will lay open before this little boy, but at this moment the grass was greenest on the other side of that lawn. His world was no bigger than his experience, but he was about to experience a new piece of lawn, and he was going to do it with all his heart.
Wow, it's cool to be alive.
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Daddy. Jesus. Thank you for Your Words of Life written and given to us.
I'm going to run up there!
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I tried to upload a picture and failed. It would have been great, though. Picture by Avalore
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7 comments:
Thoughtful and inspiring.
(The way that I bring in pictures is to save them in My Pictures then upload. Sometimes blogger won’t allow it. I’ve had several fail.)
Thanks, Milly. It's a combination of the bible study the other night, and a pot luck yesterday with my raw milk farmer. I own 2/20ths of one of his cows, and yesterday was a business meeting about which I had heard nothing. It was funny, because I did not know there was a pot luck, would not have wanted to attend, and happened to be in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. Voila, I got some free chili.
(Who's ever heard of putting brown sugar and cinammon in chili?!?)
1.5 hours of small talk later, I had to get outside and type a little!
The bible study was funny, because this is all indirectly related to predestination for me, and one of the guys brought it up. That's when I'm glad I'm teaching the pastor's bible study. He knows I'm a 5-pointer, so when I answer the predestination question, he's there to see that I'm not undercutting him.
I just told them that all those predestinationist verses should be interpreted as taking away our reason for pride. If we cannot come to the Father, unless He draws us, then we should not be proud of having "found" Christ. We should be humbled, and thankful that God drew us.
As for the picture, blogger has told me that it successfully uploaded it about 6 times. But it does not show up. I tried everything I know to do, and tried it again this morning. No dice.
And finally,
You must be the non-sleepingest person I've ever met! :-)
That’s cool that you own part of a cow.
Blogger does that I’ve had the same problem at times. I’ll see if it’s a go on mine.
Yes some nights I have trouble sleeping. I have to force myself awake and make myself stay awake. With the man snoring and me not being able to just relax I end up at my desk.
As for the chili NO WAY do we put brown sugar and cinnamon on it. I’ve tasted it with honey cooked in.
The only sugar I use it a small amount to sweeten the onions as they cook. I change to the recipe I use now to make the man and girl happy. I like it spicy, hot, and with beans. The city folks in this house don’t.
Yup, sure is cool to be alive.
CP... you sure put good stuff out here!
speaking of sleeplessness..
CP.
I printed this out and read it yesterday. I wanted to make sure I got back and told you that this was a GREAT post! I wish I had time to elaborate on it but I have some stuff I am supposed to be doing. Please be aware that, though my comments are sparse these days, I am reading pretty much everything.
Keep going, man!
Good stuff and great post! We certainly need to be reminded of God's greatness time and again, especially when we are tempted to feel that He just can't help us or understand us.
Ah yes, it is a delight to read you on the kids. Hope that you finally did join them in the fun!
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