Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French priest and philosopher once remarked: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Hebrews 11:3 reminds us: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
The spiritual world is often considered an unknown entity, apprised as a realm or dimension beyond the physical. It is regularly regarded as an afterlife or a kingdom inhabited by spirits, angels, and other supernatural beings. It is a concept that exists independently of the physical world, but interacts with it. The specific nature of the spiritual world varies across religions and cultures, with some believing it to be a place of judgment or reward, while others see it as an expanse for continued growth and evolution. It holds extreme mystical qualities that cannot be scientifically verified or disproved, but grants metaphysical insights suggesting a strong possibility of its existence.
A galaxy is a vast, gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, typically containing billions of stars. The solar system, including the Sun and Earth, is part of the Milky Way galaxy, a large spiral galaxy. Some spiritualists and spiritual traditions believe in a spiritual principality or dimension that overlaps or interacts with our physical reality, potentially extending across galaxies or even beyond. Others may conceive of a spiritual realm as a separate plane of existence, potentially residing outside of the physical universe.
The spiritual world is believed by many to house God and heaven, and is considered to be ever-present. This is particularly relevant when it comes to God’s intervention on matters important to Him. 2 Kings 5:8-19 is a pertinent example of divine spiritual intervention and trust in God's unseen power. This passage highlights how God's power and grace can be experienced through a prophet and a simple act of faith and obedience. The Syrian king, seeking to capture Elisha, is misled by God into a blind state, leading his army to Samaria instead of Elisha's location. This highlights Elisha's faith and God's protection of his people, even in the face of perceived danger. It states: “Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.”
And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice. And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.”
God is known as the spiritual essence of life. It is He who breathes the necessary clean and unpolluted air into the nostrils of mankind that may impact cognitive function and enhance creativity. Larry Rosenberg, an American teacher once remarked: “The fact is that when we focus on the breath, we are focusing on the life force. Life begins with our first breath and will end after our last. To contemplate breathing is to contemplate life itself.”
Genesis 2:4-9 reminds us: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up - for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground - then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
The Tree of Life is regarded as the sustaining power of God and a symbolic representation of interconnectedness, often used in various cultures and religions to depict the relationship between life, nature, and the spiritual realm. In a scientific context, it also represents the evolutionary history of life, illustrating the relationships between different species. It bears its own special fruit that feeds and nourishes all, and fulfills inner goodness both physically and spiritually.
God is considered both transcendent and immanent. This ascribes to the confidence and knowledge that even though His true essence may be beyond one’s comprehension, He can still be experienced and interacted with through faith, prayer and spiritual practices. Without God, there is little fruitfulness in the world, He provides the necessary nourishment of life to attain its rewards. John 15:1-8 confirms: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
The confident assurance that comes from a faith in Christ leads to the desire and focus of eternal life after the dwelling on earth has come to an end in the human body. It emphasizes that believers walk by faith, not physical sight with the express future hope to be in the corporeal vision of God after death. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 reminds us: “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
Amen.
