One summer when I was at our local park with my dogs, I ran across a small doe that had been shot and killed by what appeared as a high powered rifle. It was a horrific kill. The shooter missed the area of the heart which hunters know is the most humane way to take a deer down because it's fast, precise, and usually causes the animal no suffering. Not so with the doe. The location where the killer's bullet entered, the visual damage and carnage I saw, plus her hollow eyes spoke to my spirit and told me of the suffering, confusion, and fear this animal experienced before she died alone in an open field. Staring at her lifeless, ravaged, body, my lips began to quiver as a tear rolled off my chin to the ground. For what reason was she slaughtered and left to suffer a senseless death? I began to ponder, did she have a spirit, and if so, where did it go? Have you ever wondered those things about the animals God created for us, including your own pet cat, dog, rabbit, hamster, lizard, etc? Well, I have. Today I want to talk about the "spirit of life" as mentioned in the Bible and hopefully help give you a sense of what it means.
The climax of God's creative work, His best and most extraordinary work of all, was the creation of man ... you and me. We are a result of His breath, "The Spirit of Life." Genesis 2:7 "The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul". God did two things in creating mankind. First He FORMED him from the dust of the ground, and, second, He BREATHED HIS OWN BREATH into the nostrils of Adam. This distinguished man from all other creatures God had made. This one scripture contains three significant facts about man's creation:
First, God and God alone created man. The man did not evolve from other creatures.
Secondly, impersonal forces did not form man. All the cells, DNA, atoms, molecules, hydrogen, protons, neutrons, or electrons did not create man! These are only the substances that makeup man's physical body. The LORD God 'formed' man. The LORD God created the substances, and then He used those substances to create man. The Hebrew word for 'formed' in my Concordance is yatsar, which means "to mold, shape, or form." It brings to mind the image of a potter who has the intelligence and the power to form his creation. God is the Master Potter (Isaiah 64:8) who had the image of man within His mind and who possessed the power and the intelligence to bring that image to life! God had both the omniscience (all-knowing) and the omnipotence (all-power) to do exactly what He wanted.
Third, God breathed His own breath (SPIRIT) of life into man. Man is more than "dust" or physical substance. Man has a spirit. Adam's body had just been formed by God from the dust of the earth -- a lifeless human body lying on the ground. Then God leaned over and "breathed" His own "breath of life"/Spirit into the man's nostrils and man became a LIVING SOUL Genesis 2:7 KJV. The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh, meaning "an animated, breathing, conscious, and living being." Man did not become a "living soul" UNTIL God breathed life into him. As a physical, animated, rational, spiritual being, man is unique among all the living things on earth.
There are several things that make humans unique that mirror the Father. I'll list a few of them:
A.Nothing else on earth laughs! We laugh at blunder, jokes, silly faces, etc.
B. Nothing else on earth can imagine an idea then invent or create that idea. We have created automobiles, space stations, skyscrapers, dams, medicines.
C. Nothing else on earth knows spiritual/moral right from spiritual/moral wrong. We do because it is innate within us.
D. Nothing else knows God exists and has made everything around us. We do because we pray, worship, and thank Him though we have never seen Him. And no other creation communes with the God of the universe. We do, as many talk to Him on a daily basis asking for favors, asking for advice, pleading for help, telling Him how their day was, etc. All mankind seeks God in one way or another. Our spirits long to commune with our Creator. Some call it a higher power.
It's obvious then, having the ability to create something from nothing, to know and commune with God, to have joy and laughter, to know what's right, and to steer away from wrong exudes the qualities that God Himself breathed into us.
So, what is the breath of God? It is the life and power of God, given to man to animate him. The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach, which means "wind, breath, air, spirit." The life of God lives on and on. The immaterial part of man was designed to live eternally because it is the life of God. IT CANNOT DIE! It goes on eternally in heaven or eternally in hell. Many believe when we die, that's it; life is over. Oh no! The spirit of LIFE cannot end as the body does, because that life is the life God breathed into mankind. What about the doe I saw in the park or any other animal? Do our pets live after physical death? I can share what scripture reveals. Animals are called "living creatures" in Genesis and if you also recall, there are "living creatures" in heaven recorded in Revelation. Listen to these words directly from God: "Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, with your descendants after you; and with every 'living CREATURE' (soul/nephesh) that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of ALL that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth"(Genesis 9: 9-10). God's covenant was even with the animals! Animals may not have a fallen spirit that needs redemption as man does (because man fell from grace spiritually) but animals do have a soul - they breathe, and they have life- they are animated and capable of relationships. Animals have personalities and emotions that we experience including love/caring, jealousy, obedience, protectiveness, rebellion, insecurity, contentment, affection, loyalty, playfulness, independence, dependence, selfishness, sharing, etc. Look at your own dog or cat! Amazing, isn't it? Look up Luke 12:6 and Matthew 10:29 and see what God says about something seemingly as insignificant as birds! Even sparrows are not forgotten by God. Animals are important to God! Had they not been, He would not have asked Noah to save them as they too were needed to replenish the earth! Since man is made in the image of God, and since man can love an animal as much we love our fellow humans, such a bond is worthy of eternity in my opinion. Why would God allow us to create love bonds with our pets and never have an option to see them again?
Finally thoughts. Part of being made in God's image is that Adam had the capacity, as do we, to make free choices. It's called free will. Animals don't have the capacity to know right from wrong. They simply have instinct. Animals cannot commit sin. Although Adam was given a righteous nature originally, Adam made an evil choice to rebel against His Creator. In so doing, Adam marred the image of God within himself, and he passed that damaged likeness on to all his descendants (Romans 5:12). Today, we still bear the image of God (James 3:9), but we also bear the scars of sin. Mentally, morally, socially, and physically we show the effects of sin. Not so with animals. Animals are innocent of sin. Staring into the hollow, empty eyes of that doe whose soul no longer gave it animation, crushed my spirit. It was such an overwhelming feeling of sorrow that an innocent animal God had also created, died at the hands of a ruthless human also created by the hand of God. "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life" Job 33:4.
Until He Comes,
-Pat-
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