Today’s scripture: Romans 8:9-11 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Steve Adams):
Recently my spouse Dan & I, along with a good friend of ours, walked the gardens of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We came upon a profound quote that invited us to think more deeply, inscribed along a long, curved wall. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” This was written by Antione de Saint Exupery in his charming book, The Little Prince. We paused to savor the depth of the words as they added a new depth of dimension to our awareness as we relaxed to the sights and smells of the beautiful flowers, heard the soothing songs of the birds, and enjoyed each others’ presence after a hard days work.
The relevance of these words to Romans 8:9-11 is striking. Amazingly, in these three verses, the word “spirit” occurs six times! In order to understand the meaning of these words, we need to try to understand what spirit is. It’s in a realm which is very foreign to us, because we can’t see, smell, taste, or touch it. It’s a level that far transcends the physical universe we normally experience. As Jesus said in John 4:24, God is Spirit. And Isaiah 55:9 proclaims, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God, as Spirit and our Creator, is the cause of many of the wonders we see, things such as the stars, the Milky way, and the intricate and complex structure of DNA. But we’ll simply have to wait until heaven in order to get a better grasp of all that that spirit really is! I think it’s helpful to sometimes think about this, because it humbles us. It shows us there’s so much we don’t know, or understand. It builds a healthy awe of God, and makes us hunger to learn more!
And yet there are great truths to be seen in these verses. In addition to knowing God is spirit, we know God is love; and this Spirit of love will give LIFE — eternal life — to our mortal bodies! It’s almost unbelievable, isn’t it? But, it becomes reality to us by faith, “the conviction of things not seen.”
Thought for the day: We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. I Cor. 4:18
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.