NECESSITIES OF LIFE

God sure is amazing! Are you in awe of how He orchestrates this world and all that is in it perfectly? Threads of the divine run through everything. There are many connections between things that are considered more scientific or worldly and with the divine that I think we sometimes miss.

As humans, what are the four necessities we need in order to survive on this earth and why?

WATER–Provides hydration to process food, remove waste, and regulate our temperature.

AIR–Necessary to breathe, fueling our cells and providing the basic building blocks our bodies need to survive.

FOOD–Is an important energy source along with providing necessary nutrients.

SHELTER–Provides a refuge for protection from the elements.

I will take the liberty of saying that I believe there is one more important necessity for life, and that is…

LIGHT–Provides sources of energy and life for vegetation and humans as well as producing Vitamin D and helping prevent some diseases.

 

Photo courtesy of Judy Merrill-Smith under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

Not only do we have those provided physically in the worldly sense on this earth to help us survive, but think about what the Bible tells us. We see how Jesus, in His divinity, is the source of all of these too.

WATER

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  –John 4:13-14  (NIV)

This Scripture is when Jesus is talking with the Samaritan woman at the well. How blessed we are to experience the living water of Jesus in our lives. The spiritual sense of living water is that which gives spiritual blessings and life-giving power as we live as one with the Spirit. It is the joy and peace that well up in us as we see His presence and share it with others. It leads us to eternal life.   

AIR

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  –John 20:21-22  (NIV)

Jesus spoke these words to the disciples at His first post-resurrection appearance to them. We are all privileged to have the breath of God in us, which began when He breathed life into Adam, the first man. Jesus then breathed the Holy Spirit upon us so that we would never be alone after He was taken into heaven. The Holy Spirit helps us carry out the commission of making disciples of all nations.

FOOD

“I (Jesus) am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  –John 6:51  (NIV)

 Jesus came to earth and suffered death on a cross because He is truly the living bread for all who will believe. He surrendered His will to be obedient to God so we might have eternal life. When we feast on the living bread, we become more like Jesus as we extend ourselves in love, compassion, and kindness. We commune in unity and draw strength from Jesus.

 

 

SHELTER

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  –John 17:13-16  (NIV)

I love this heart-to-heart conversation that Jesus is having with God, His and our Father too. His heart is agonizing for the disciples and us, knowing that this world is a difficult place to be, especially when our hearts want to be with the spiritual world. Jesus is asking God to protect us from the evil one and to provide us with a place of safe shelter. What a loving brother we have in Jesus!  

LIGHT

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  –John 8:12  (NIV)

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.  –1 John 1:5  (NLT)

One of Jesus’ great “I am” statements is this one:  “I am the light of the world.” We hear that God and Jesus are both light. God first shone His light into this world when He began His work of creation. Jesus, being God’s Son, continues to shine His light that shows us the path of life on our faith journey. Since we are God’s children too, our lives illuminate the same light helping to dispel the darkness of the world.

Be encouraged this week to see the divinity of Jesus as He is…

…quenching your thirst for water.

…providing the breath of the Holy Spirit.

…providing the bread of life.

…sheltering you from the evil one.

…illuminating your path.

REFLECTION:

When have you shared the wellspring of living water with someone?
When did you experience the shelter of the Most High protecting you?

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  –Philippians 4:19-20  (NIV)