Animated

The creation account in Genesis still fascinates me. It’s such an intriguing piece. There’s that bit in the recounting of the making man, formed out of the dust. Then with a breath into the nostrils he becomes a living creature.

It’s just the image of a lifeless dust form animated by the breath of life given by God. It’s an evocative image for me.

I then think about the sort of things that animate people today. Some noble causes, some trivial pursuits that get them all agitated and alert and alive. Well alive for them. Before anyone mentions their thing, they really do appear like lifeless dust shapes shifting from one thing to another. It’s just a pity that whatever animates people can in itself just be lifeless mist wafting from one state of nothingness to another.

Yet the breath of God in someone. The sparkle, the warmth, the sense of dynamism, the feeling that this is what life can really be like. Not a functional ritual. Not a hyping up exercise. A genuine encounter with the breath of life that inspires and animates to fulfil the purpose of our creation.

Sometimes I experience that in the company of other believers. We share the word of God together and it’s not an academic exercise. Like the brothers on the road to Emmaus there’s a burning sensation in the heart as we’re animated by the words of life that we share with each other. It’s not just about sentiment – it’s instruction, it’s direction, it’s purpose, it’s a reason for praise. It’s a taste of what it is to really be animated.

It’s great to know that life is about getting more of those kind of tastes breathing in something that truly animates.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden