INSPIRATION

As Lutherans, we claim that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I often think of this definition in a dual sense, or as the Bible being doubly inspired. As an act of inspiration, it was composed in specific places and times by specific people. The authors were moved to “receive divine or supernatural truths.” The very air they were breathing of their current context affected the way in which the story was told. As an act of the Creator, the very air they were breathing was a life-sustaining force breathed into the world by God. As John tells in the opening chapter of his gospel, it is through this Word that everything came into being. To be inspired is to have life breathed into you, to be energized or set in motion.

We often think of inspiring, or taking in breath, as something we are in charge of or something we can totally control. Fortunately we are not for if we were really consciously in charge of our breathing, then we would stop breathing when sleeping. And trying to be in charge of breathing for another living being can be a dangerous thing.

Years ago, as an anesthesia technician working at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital, I had to help teach veterinary students to induce anesthesia in animals. Typically, an intravenous anesthetic (IV) is injected in the animal’s vein to put them to sleep long enough to place a tube into their trachea to then deliver both anesthetic gas and oxygen for the duration of the surgery. The IV anesthetic temporarily slows metabolism long enough that the brain doesn’t get the signal to initiate breathing again. It isn’t until the carbon dioxide levels are raised that the brain tells the body to resume breathing. This period of not breathing is very short, but long enough to strike terror in a new veterinary student. If the student is unskilled, they will begin frantically trying to breathe for the animal with the gas/oxygen anesthetic mixture, which only continues to tell the brain that the animal doesn’t need to breathe yet, and further slows the metabolism. By trying to artificially induce the animal to begin inspiring on their own, they also risk overdosing the animal on anesthetic.

We are also not in charge of God’s inspiring work in the world. For if we were really in charge of when and where God inspires us, we would be able to stop God from breathing life into the world. It is tempting to try to breathe for God and believe that we have the ability to be in charge of God’s work in another person. Try as we might, we simply can’t make another person experience this life-giving force. And if we try to force this “God-like” breathing onto another person, we risk over-dosing them on a high-octane religious experience.

Instead, we can speak the words that tell of our own inspiration as well as share the words of those inspired biblical writers and let God decide when and they need to take in this breath of new life. God is also in charge of the time and place where this inspiration occurs. As Christian educators, we have the unique task of helping to facilitate the environment and opportunity for the whole people of God to gather and share their stories of faith. Even though we live in times that challenge the biblical message, the very Word of God, we don’t need to worry about the outcomes of our teaching and work; God is still breathing. So take a deep breath knowing that the Creator will continue to bring new life into the world in surprising and unexpected ways.