A Theology of Breathing

I would like to share with you a piece written by my good friend and soon to be frequent contributor to this blog, Skeet...

God is everywhere. That brief statement is an extremely simplified affirmation of the Historic Christian understanding that the Living God is omnipresent and always near and available to the created world. If, as a Christian, I am compelled to affirm the omnipresence of the one true God, why don’t I think of Theology as being omnipresent? This is not to say that Theology is an entity or being that resides everywhere (that is not an accurate understanding of the omnipresence of God either), rather that everywhere I am my theology should be. I should interact with the World- God’s World theologically.

I find myself seeking God and doing Theology in certain places, at certain times, with certain questions. I see in myself a propensity to do Theology on my terms and in my predefined categories. I am on a journey to correct this tendency; to engage God’s World with a passion to know the God behind the scenes; the God of the average and mundane existing and spinning of this world, as well as the God of miracles and cosmic power. I need to see and know God in average everyday experiences, because that is where I live.

The Bible’s story of the creation the human race involves God forming a lifeless Adam and breathing into him the breath of life. (Gen. 2:7) In the ancient world they lacked the scientific understanding to distinguish between living and dead as we do in modern hospitals, but they knew one thing. If someone was breathing, life was still in them, and when breath departed life was gone. Breathing is the most basic and non-voluntary human activity. This basic function of the human body has amazing power. It energizes the body as oxygen flows through our blood to muscles and organs. It cleanses as we breathe out toxic gases that if processed would be harmful to our bodies. The constant flow of breath not only impacts my quality of life, but sustains my very existence.

The ancient poets understood that God’s breath brought life and repelled death in the life of every human being.

When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
When you send your Spirit, they are
created, and you renew the face of the earth.
(Psalm 104:29-30)

One thing you don’t want to miss here is the fact that “breath” in the first stanza is the same word as “Spirit” in the second stanza in the original language. Is the author trying to tell us something? The very Spirit or Breath of God is with us at every instance with every breath. This is why is some Christian traditions you will hear prayers thanking God for our very breath.

We are not guaranteed the next breath, but we can enjoy the one we are inhaling. Professor Robert Pyne writes, “We believe that God intends for us to experience this life as an ever-expanding gulp of fresh air.” (Life Space: the practice of life with God; p.8) One thing I do know is that as long as God is supplying me with breath, he is also with me in a way I will never truly understand or appreciate. Maybe you have wondered if God was done with you or if He had “left the building.” I offer a simple suggestion to help answer those questions.

1. Slow Down and Relax.
2. Place your right hand on your abdomen.
3. Feel the movement of your chest as you inhale and exhale.
4. Recognize that you are still breathing.

- Skeet