Loving God with Soul I

In Romans 8:16, we read, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Throughout the world in many different religious ways, people reach beyond themselves for the divine, or at least for a sense of ultimate meaning. George Barna says that despite the decline of the church in Western Europe and in North America, the market for spiritual things has never been higher. People still hunger to connect with God, spirit to Spirit. That is our topic for the week as we look at thinking, speaking and doing everything "for the Love of God."

Genesis 2:4-25

We start our study on "loving God with all our soul" in the second creation account. The first account is found in Genesis 1:1-2:3, which I call God's "New World Symphony" in seven movements,is poetic with repeated phrases like "on the first day" (second, third and so on), "And God said," and "it was good." It is a powerful presentation of the presence and power of our creative God. The second account, in Genesis 2-4 takes place in a beautiful garden and is done in the form of a intimate and playful narrative. We will spend two days here.

You know this is a second telling of creation by verse 4, "This is the account of the heavens and hte earth when they were created." The story starts with two missing elements. The first is rain, so while there is moisture coming from rivers, there are no plants or shrubs. We immediately think, "If there is a river, then theire is moisture and plant life." The story will solve that later. The second missing element is a human being to cultivate the ground. I am indebted to Phyllis Tribble for her fine work on this chapter of God's word. The Hebrew word for earth or ground is adamah. God fashions an "earth creature" (Adam) from the ground (adamah). We need to slow down our reading at this point. The creature is sand art at this point (picture it from your favorite times at the beach), a work to admire but lifeless. Then something powerful happens, "and [God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of life."

Sidelight here: The Bible says in II Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the child of God may be throroughtly eauipped for every good work." I like to think of studying God's word as God continuing to breathe life into me as I read, reflect, and apply it in my life.

The earth creature is no longer sand art but in Hebrew a nephesh, a living human being. The point of the story is clear here, "We are made alive by "the breath of God." There is an old hymn that sings, "Breathe on me, breath of God. Fill me with life anew, that I may love what thou dost love and do what thou wouldst do." Take a moment to think about the miracle you are and what the source of your life really is. Open your mouth and take a deep breath of air and open spiritually and take a deep breath of the life-giving Spirit of God.

God has given the earth creature life and then gives him a vocation, a purpose. He is placed in a garden in Eden. Four rivers flow there that locate the garden in present day Iraq. He is also given the freedom of choice through the presentation of the forbidden tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Have you noticed that true love and intimate connection always requires the freedom of choice? No one can force you to love him or her. We might argue with God about the freedom of choice and the way human beings have used it, but, at least for me, it is clear that the power of choice was meant to set up a loving relationship between the creatures and their creator, a spirit to Spirit relationship.

The story is delightfully playful, and we need to again slow down our reading. God sees that the man is lonely and so he decides to create a helper. The Hebrew language here invites us to use our creative imagination as Adam, the earth creature made alive by the breath of God and given the job of taking care of creation now interviews and names the animals and birds but finds none of them as suitable helpers. I picture an episode of "Talk to the Animals" here, but you imagine it how you like.

Then God puts Adam to sleep and takes a rib and from it fashions another creature. When he presents the creature to Adam, the reaction of the man is ecstatic. She is a creature just like him, only marvelously different. It is here that for the first time the Hebrew words, ish (man) and ishah (woman) are used. Adam discovers his identity as a man in the creation of Eve and her identity is similarly discovered in him. Notice the mutuality and intimacy of creation and how far we have distorted what God has created (making it "the battle of the sexes"). The picture here is of human beings in relationship with each other as they are spirit related to God. When I reflect on this passage, I see a new holiness, beauty and significance in my wife, our children and the other people God has brought into our lives. How about you?

John 3:1-8

It seems only appropriate then to move to this famous passage from Jesus. It is a night-time dialogue between two rabbis, one that was official (Nicodemus, a Pharisee) and one that was not (Jesus). We don't know Nick's motivations, but it is quite possible that he was sent by the ruling council to check Jesus out. From what happened later, this meeting might have been something he volunteered for out of his own curiosity. Nicodemus is devoted and deeply religious.

Jesus abruptly takes the conversation in a different direction, telling Nicodemus that he "must be born again." His faith has been about being right and faithful, but Jesus points him to a dimension of faith that he is missing. He must be "born of the Spirit." The word in Hebrew for Spirit is ruach ("breath" or "wind") and in Greek is pneuma (again "breath" or "air"). To his experience, knowledge, devotion and good intentions, he needs his life to be "God-breathed." He is invited to a "soul love" relationship with God.

In order to experience and enjoy the fullness of that relationship, he is going to have to do one of the most difficult things, to embrace the freedom and unpredictability of God. He has opened his mind and become learned. He has opened his heart and become devoted. He must now open his spirit and becoming newly alive. But it will mean letting go of the controls and making room for God to more fully work in and through him. That was a challenge for Nick, as we shall see in tomorrow's reading. It's a challenge for us, too. But there really is a sense in which God is inviting Nicodemus and us to become more than sand art, to have all our giftedness, experience and desires made alive by the breath of God.

Have a great day in our LORD, the creative and life-giving Spirit.