Series: Renewal
Ephesians 4:3 ESV
Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV
Genesis 1:1-2 ESV
Matthew 3:16-17 ESV
Exodus 3:14-15 (“I AM”)
Whenever we are faced with a thought process or a task that seems unattainable, we have a choice.
WE have a choice.
We can ruminate on it and consider how to tackle it, making a strategy that is followed by a list and a plan of action.
Or we can choose to put it on the back burner for another day or another time.
Or we can discuss options with our closest friends and trusted companions and take ideas that will help us determine a sound course of action.
Or we can do what my da always told me to do…nothing.
When I was young I thought that was insane.
After all, every class in school teaches us to think and plan how to accomplish a task. Even when learning to read we had an action plan. We started with a guide (the alphabet), sounds that match a letter, how to integrate the sounds using basic rules of that language, and how to speak the sounds.
That course of action was the same when learning English, Spanish, Hebrew, and French.
If we do not follow that course of action we will not learn the skill.
But it’s not like that with God. When we go to God and seek things of God we are not following a checklist. There is no written course of action. That’s because it’s about being in a very unique kind of relationship.
It’s a real relationship, but it’s with our creator.
In Ephesians 4:3 Paul urges his readers to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
In this phrase Paul gives us clues about what we seek and what we hope to find.
In the broader context we are told in Ephesians 4:1-3, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Our ultimate goal is to BE in unity with the Spirit.
That unity of Spirit was possible from the beginning. In Genesis 1:1-2 we learn, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
When we read the account of Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16-17 we learn, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
The Spirit, unified with the Father descended on the Son. The three were one in agreement when Jesus was baptized.
That gives rise to another question…aren’t they then in agreement when every person who believes? Are we not in agreement when we are baptized?
And…is there applause (great joy) in heaven when every person is baptized?
Unity of the Spirit with Father and Son in a bond of peace is certainly perfect peace. In addition to that, in my mind the ‘oneness’ of Father, Son, Spirit in peace is shared.
I recently read about the Hebrew speaking of the name of God. Initially in Exodus the name of God was so sacred that when Moses met God he asked what he should call God. The answer in Exodus 3:14-15 was, “I am who I am”. Essentially tell them, “I am” sends me.
Let’s unpack the holiness of that moment, and every moment after. The unspeakable Hebrew name for God meant, “the word was not spoken at all, but breathed! Many are convinced that it’s correct pronunciation (in Hebrew YHVH) is an attempt to replicate and imitate the very sound of inhalation and exhalation. The one thing we do every moment of our lives is therefore to speak the name of God. This makes it our first and our last word as we enter and leave this world.” (The Naked Now, Richard Rohr, Chapter 2, Page 26).
Thinking of it in terms of Father, Son, and Spirit in perfect unity would mean with every breath we are unified with God.
We are reminded that life is sacred.
God is closer than we think.
And prayer is much easier than we’ve made it out to be.
So…the next time you are having a bad day and you’re frustrated, stop and just breathe. Remember that God is in every breath.
We don’t always need an intricate strategy or a course of action to deal with life. We simple need to breathe. Father, Son and Spirit breathe with us and we are not ever alone.
Spiritual Practice: Just Breathe
Close your eyes and breathe in and out, in and out, and receive the bond of peace from God.
In God, Deborah