The Breath of Life

As I begin the year rereading the beginning of the human race, I long to experience a new beginning in my personal life and in the ministry that the LORD has placed me. 2007 had some particular challenges that I have learned a great deal. And although I am going to go to great lengths to learn from the mistakes of the past, I am eager to experience the thrill and joy of a new beginning. With this as my personal backdrop, I am impressed with how God makes all things new.

The Bible records the beginning of the very first human, Adam, as follows: “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7).

It would be interesting to know the level of physical maturity that the LORD gave Adam. Was it a teenage body of 19… a twenty something body … or a thirty something body? Did he have any age spots, wrinkles, grey hair, or tired muscles? (Or was he completely new?)

On the other hand, no matter how perfect the physical body of Adam was … it did not have life until the LORD “breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils.” * It took the breath of God to bring to life a clump of dirt (or a jar of clay). Personally, I am praying and believing that the Spirit of Christ will breathe on my life and the life of the church that I serve in a special way as we begin a new year, so that we can experience a renewal that can only come from the LORD!