Be Spiritual

“You're not a natural being, having a spiritual experience; but you’re a spiritual being living this natural experience.” This is the first line of a gospel song I enjoy, by Donald Lawrence.  It was released in 2011, but every time I hear it, it is a good reminder for me to check my perspective.  We all experience the natural, but we should not neglect to consider the spiritual lessons and meaning that our natural experiences have. 

Last year, I applied for a new job, I thought I was qualified and thought I could perform the job extremely well.  I was selected for an interview and it went very well, I was even interviewed twice more.  I kept expecting to hear that I was the new hire, because naturally…if someone makes it through three separate interviews, they must be the new hire, right?  Well, no, someone else was hired instead.  Naturally, I was surprised and disappointed, but I believed in my spirit, that God had reasons for this outcome and I trusted Him to help me understand.  He has.  I didn’t know, at that time, that my brother would have a stroke and need me to be available to travel to and from Atlanta multiple times.  By leaving me in the current role, I had the flexibility to do what my brother needed without the additional burden of a new job.  We live in the natural, but the spiritual is always operating.  

Our Bible study group is reading the Gospel of John and we see this conflict of the Spirit and the natural mind multiple times.  John 1:10-12 states, ”He [Jesus] was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” 

In John 3 a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus to have a conversation.  He, clearly, could only understand the natural.  He had seen the signs and wonders Jesus had performed, and believed Jesus must be from God, but that was the limit to his understanding.  Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:3, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” This statement confuses Nicodmeus, so he asks, “How can someone be born when they are old - surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb!”  Jesus explains more, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit”  Nicodemus asks, “How can this be?”  Clearly, there is something hindering his understanding.  

I would say Nicodemus, like many people, believe what they can see, but lack the faith to believe what they don’t first understand.  I will admit, as someone who has been in church her whole life, there’s plenty that I don’t understand.  But I believe it because I have faith.  My faith tells me that God did, in fact, create the heavens and the earth from nothing.  If He created the heavens and the hearth in the beginning, then nothing was before it and He created from nothing but an idea to create.  Yes, I am a certified Science teacher.  Yes, I know the Law of Conservation of Mass, and I believe it, and I’ve seen proof of it.  However, I believe that while this is a law of nature, God is Spirit.  What He created generally operates by the natural laws, but He is not bound by such laws, theories, hypotheses, findings or data.  People of faith must believe what they cannot see or measure.  In John, we see Jesus performing miracles the people could see in the natural, but it was for the purpose of growing their faith in the spiritual.  “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1

If you are someone who lives in the natural, but needs help with accessing your spiritual beliefs, please reach out to me or a faith leader you know.  Pray that God will help you to understand, to grow in faith and understanding. Join a Bible study group, ask them to pray with you.  I can say that letting go of my need for understanding first, a whole new level of faith and understanding has been shown to me.  I am always happy to speak with someone who wants to discuss their understanding, their faith, or their salvation.  Don’t hesitate.  Amen.  

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