Journey, an update from Rachelle Sperling 9-13-06

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? John 11:25-26

I mentioned in my update e-mail last week that I had a gas leak in my apartment. I had known about it and been working on getting it fixed for weeks but hadn't been able to get anything done about it. I was able to have my parents send a Carbon Monoxide monitor with my friend who was coming to visit. I wasn't too surprised when the alarm went off as soon as I plugged it in, but I was surprised at how high the reading was.

The whole process got me thinking about how Co2 is a silent killer. You can't see it or smell it and the effects of it sneak up on you. Slowly over the last month the air that I breath, the air that gives me life, was being removed from my apartment by an asphyxiating gas. You know that it often happens in my spiritual life as well? Slowly over time, without my even noticing, Jesus, who is the source of my life, can be slowly removed from my day to day thoughts and activities. Sometimes Jesus is pushed from the center of my being to the outskirts. He waits on the sidelines for me to realize that trying to live in my own strength is like breathing high levels of Co2. It compromises my very ability to live and I don't even realize that it is happening.

I am glad for the Holy Spirit, my alarm system, who warns me when I am breathing in dangerous substances rather than living in the true life that Christ provides.