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Devotions

Creator of Adam

Giver of Life

Readings: Genesis 2:7 and John 20:19-22

On the sixth day of creation, the Lord took clay from the ground and shaped it into the form of a man. Initially this shape was lifeless. Its eyes did not see. Its heart did not beat. Its brain did not reason. This clay figure could not walk or talk. Nor could it laugh or love. It could not appreciate the azure blue sky or the scent of the crocus. Nor could it taste the sweetness of an orange or feel the soft grass on which it lay. It lay on the ground cold, lifeless, and loveless. But in an instant all that changed.

The Lord “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). That instant his eyes were opened. He looked into the face of his Creator and his heart filled to overflowing with joy for life and love for his Lord. In that second, Adam became a child of God. Now his body, which was formerly lifeless, had life eternal. He, who was powerless, received strength from God (Ps. 18:1; 2 Sam. 22:33). He, who had no spirit, became the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). What a difference the breath of God makes when that breath bestows His Holy Spirit! It is the difference between life and death (Ezek. 37:1-14). This is what Jesus does. He breathes on His people His life-giving Holy Spirit.

On the evening of the first Easter, the grief-stricken disciples were hiding behind locked doors. Mary Magdalene and the other women tried to tell them Jesus had risen, but the disciples refused to believe them (Luke 24:10-11). Filled with fear and grief, the disciples were not all that different from the original figure of clay shaped by God in the Garden of Eden. They could not appreciate the beauty of nature. They could not go into the world and share God’s love with others. Their strength, their energy, their zeal for life was gone. In many respects they had no life—no real life with Christ. Then in an instant all that changed. Jesus appeared and breathed on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The disciples received new life, by the Holy Spirit, who was given to them by Jesus’ breath (John 20:19-22). Their lives were renewed, rejuvenated—reborn. They could now grow in their faith toward God and in their love for one another. They could go out into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth to share the message of God’s love. Like the disciples and Adam before them, this is what Jesus also does for you. Without Jesus, you would have no life—no real life with Christ. But He has breathed into us His Holy Spirit so we are born anew (John 3:3-10, 16). Now because of Jesus we live with renewed strength, vigor, and vitality. In this new life He gives, all things work together for us (Rom. 8:28). In this new life, God is for us (Rom. 8:31). In this new life, we will live forever with Him who died and rose again for us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You that You have given me the gift of life. But even more, I am thankful that You sent Jesus into the world so he could breathe into my life Your Holy Spirit that I might be born anew and live with You forever.

Amen.