Exodus 3:14 "God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
The past couple of days I have been thinking a lot about the phrase "I am". Think about how often we say it. "I am hungry." "I am tired." "I am grumpy." On and on it goes. But what does it really mean to say I am (fill in the blank). When we say that we are taking on that characteristic and defining ourselves with it.
Jesus said this of Himself in many different contexts. He said, "I am the vine", "I am the bread of life", "I am the resurrection and the life." So He was defining Himself by that characteristic. Where did that all begin?
In Exodus, Moses had an encounter with all mighty God. And when Moses asked Him who he should say sent him to the Israelites, God replied "I am who I am." To me what this says is that God is the embodiment of all characteristics. He defined them all. And so when Jesus says He is the resurrection and the life - He is not just saying that He represents resurrection - he is saying that He is the resurrection. All that the resurrection and the life means is wrapped up in Him. He is the embodiment of it.
Each of these statements that Jesus made about Himself are then applied to us. If I believe that Jesus is what He says of Himself then I am believing that Jesus is the vine, Jesus is the bread of life and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. And what this means to me personally is that I take my spiritual nourishment from Him and that my resurrection and my life is secured in Him.
Believing this then should impact the way that I live. Taking my spiritual nourishment from Him means that I seek after Him with all of my heart, soul, mind and body. No matter what the circumstances of life deal to me I need to stay connected to the one true vine for all the strength that He provides.
Dying to self means living in the resurrection. Living in the resurrection means that sin and its penalty are paid for and I can live in the light of His grace. No longer bound by the chains of the past or the fear of the future. New life blooms.
Maybe it is just me but "I am" has taken on a whole lot more meaning to me. "I am His and He is mine."
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2 comments:
This is such good stuff Carol. I remember an experience I had with the Abraham passage. I read it when I was really questioning whether or not a lot of the stuff that I was experiencing was really God. And I remember reading the passage and the Lord really impressing on my spirit that phrase. "I AM." As I asked the question, God who are you? It was like He was saying, Becky--I AM the God of Abraham, and I AM the same one working in You.
When God presents Himself to the deepest part of our souls, there is nothing that can compare to it. Because in some ways, God is the only one who can find that part of us. And the only One who can touch us in the deepest part of our knowing. It's why people say, "I don't know why, but I know that I know that I know it is God. What all the I AM is, we don't know. We just know we have encountered Him.
Well...I could do the last weekend in Feb. or any weekend in March except whatever one March 14th falls closest to.
Anywhere we could iceskate up there outdoors?
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