Breath

So tonight (1/27/2011) at small group we sang this song. It was done with excellence as is the norm for our worship leader. But a line stuck out to me, and it is one that is probably overused within Christian music. It's overused in all types of music. We normally attribute this metaphor to something that we feel we cannot live without. Most often it is in reference to relationships though I have heard it used to speak of sports and hobbies as well. But in the context of my small group, the phrase is speaking of God.

"You are the air I breathe..." - Always Forever by Phil Wickham

It's kind of interesting. I normally think this means that like somehow God is all we need and the only thing that matters, and in some sense that is true. In comparison to all other things, for the Christian, one's relationship with God, or more important God's relationship with us, is of utmost importance.

But let's think this metaphor through.

So in life. We definitely need breath, right?

I mean, if we're honest, we really can't do much else. Let's take a look Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If you look, on the bottom rung is breath. Pretty important. Essential actually. There is never a time that anything else can be experienced, enjoyed, or even survived without breath. But there are other things in life. Good things. But breath is essential. Gen. 2:7 tells us that "Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

So from the beginning, we needed breath.

Back to the song.

Oh. This isn't a Bible teaching by the way, so you aren't going to see a bunch of Scripture passages. Mostly because I don't all of them off the top of my head, and this is a blog, and so I am just writing free form with whatever come into my head. Sort of like a journal except all 5 of you can read it.

But what I was thinking is this. God created so many good things for us to enjoy. First, in the Genesis account, if you are a man, he created woman. Good call God. All of us men say thank you! For the women reading this, the same is true, as God intended for us to walk side by side enjoying each others company and doing life together. But we couldn't do it without breath. We couldn't experience the joy and....heartache of relationship without breath. We couldn't experience the sunrise with a good cup of coffee in the morning without breath. Or take in a view of Grand Canyon. Or listen to a great piece of music and be moved to the core of who we are without breath. Or taste a meal with such complexity, flavors so well balanced that we want to savor each bite. Or for those with children, to just watch your child sleep. Without breath, none of this is possible.

I overstate the obvious to say this.

our amazingly creative and redeeming God has overwhelmed us with his love. with his grace. forgiveness. kindness. and healing. he is the air we breathe. and how amazing that in his being our everything, he enables us to enjoy and experience the beauty, depth, and richness of this life that he has given us. that he designed. wow. what a good dad. he really does give good gifts. Matthew 7:11 (i had to throw one more in there)