Breath and Life

When God brings verses from various portions of Scripture into focus the impact can be overwhelming. This insightful glimpse caught me a couple of weeks ago.

I was working on a Bible study for a group of friends who meet weekly. The topic was the word "all". It's only a three letter word, but I'd been noticing the power it commanded when I paid attention to its meaning and application. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 came into view, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

I contemplated the first four words, "All Scripture is God-breathed ...". The Bible is the product of the very breath of the sovereign triune God whom John 1:1-3 reports was and is the Maker of all things.

Another verse tickled the fringes of my mind and I went in search of it.

Genesis 2:7 announces, "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." God took some molded earth and granted it life through His breath. The very same breath, God's breath, that transformed a lifeless sculpture into a living being is the life-giving source of Scripture. Whether to the dust of the earth or letters on a page God's breath bestows life.

When I open my Bible the very breath of God rises up to my nostrils. His DNA, if He will excuse the anthropomorphic reference, is imprinted on each word, verse, passage, book ... every piece. As I study Scripture I grow in my understanding of who He is for I am spending time in His presence. I am affected not only by the information divulged and the wisdom expressed there, but also by the life-giving breath of the One who maintains the absolute reliability of His Truth.

There is more than hunger and thirst that calls me to the Word. I need God's life-giving breath to keep me alive and transform my life. The opening chapters of Genesis make it plain and the message is carried through the New Testament. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

May each of us grow in the grace and the knowledge of Him who is our All in All. Emmanuel