Breathe

When I wrestle with my kids they, mostly my daughter, have learned that their breathe usually doesn't smell that good. So when I hide from them under a pillow they breathe into my air hole to get me to come out. It is effective. Sick, yet effective.

That is my typical association with breathe. Bad. Mostly not good.

That is until I listened to a sermon a couple weeks ago by Rick McKinley of Imago Dei. He was speaking on the breath of God.

In Genesis 2:7 it says "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Wow. God literally breathed life into man. Into us. That is the sweetest breath. I've read this verse a thousand times. It isn't new, I get it. Yet the way Rick tied it together with the next verse is too cool.

In John 20:21-22 it says "Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" This is another verse I've read a bunch, however, I never caught what was said. Jesus breathed on them. Picture him standing amongst them going HAAA right on them. And with that he gave them the Holy Spirit. A new life given to them from his breathe.

Like God imparted life into man, Jesus imparted the Holy Spirit to man. John, who starts his gospel with an account of creation, ends his gospel with another symbolic reference to creation. Jesus, as God, gives us the "Breath of Life" in his Spirit in order for us to live.

The Bible if full of references to breath or breathing as the essence of life. Without breath man dies. Psalm 104:29 states "when you take away their breath, they die and return to dust." Without breath we are dead. Sure enough. Without God's Spirit then we must be spiritually dead.

Yes, I can do without my kids stank breath creeping in on my nostrils, but I can't go another day with out the Breath of God in me. He has given me life, a life that I am to live for Him, to the fullest. Full of breath.