SCRIPTURE: It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. – Jesus, John 6:63 ESV
THOUGHT: It’s a strange saying that life is found in words, isn’t it? But of course, not just any words – the words of God. And to push it a little further, Jesus told his disciples that the flesh is no help in producing life. Hmmmm. Worth thinking about.
There may be a knee-jerk tendency to believe that life comes from our internal organs working properly; we certainly need a heart and a bloodstream and kidneys and a brain. Or, backing up even further, surely it is pregnancy that produces new life. Well, what a miracle that is, but Jesus says the flesh is no help at all in giving life, so we’ve got to look even deeper.
It is the Spirit who gives life, he teaches. This is, in fact, the key to eternal life. The flesh dies but life goes on. I’ve often pondered Jesus saying about his own life, “I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again (Jn. 10:18).” The Spirit gave him life even after death. Another miracle.
So what is the purpose of the flesh if it isn’t to give life? Paul says, “we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us (2 Cor. 4:7).” The purpose of our flesh is to worship the God who gives life with just a word; to not put so much stock in these brains and hearts and bodies that we forget our Maker. There are those who are committed to transhumanism; they want their bodies to live forever using sophisticated technology. Implicit in the idea is that it is not God who gives life after all.
Me? I’m content to give up this flesh someday for an eternal body – not really anxious to keep this one forever. But while I still have this flesh, with Peter I say, ‘to whom else would I go Jesus? You have the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68).’
PRAYER: Oh God, thank you for the reminder that life involves flesh, but flesh is not where life originates – it is just a jar of clay to hold the real treasure you’ve given me, the words of spirit and life.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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