Living the Life of God

 Living the Life of God Recently, I discovered that a woman I work with keeps the Sabbath and the holy days and believes in keeping God's commandments. While many of our beliefs are quite different, we get along. It is nice to work with someone who has similar convictions. I told her that I was attempting to learn Hebrew. One day after that conversation, she brought three books for me: one on Hebrew verbs, an English translation of the Septuagint, and one called 52 Hebrew Words That Every Christian Should Know. The last book is a beautiful, faux leather book with gold-embossed pages, which looks like what a religious book should look like! The author, Dave Adamson, presents the Hebrew words and brief explanationsof their meanings and applications to believers' lives. He does not intend his work to be an in-depth study of the words' etymologies and meanings. Instead, he chooses and expounds on one or two of the words' definitions. One of the words that Adamson focuses on is the Hebrew word derek (Strong's #1870). He explains that derek refers to the path we are on and the way we are going. Our way—our derek—is a path we create and travel with every choice we make. The word first appears in Scripture in Genesis 3:24 after the sin of Adam and Eve, when God says that He will "guard the way [derek] to the tree of life." The King James Version translates derek into "way" 590 times. The Bible translators also render it as "road," "path," "journey," "manner," "habit," "course of life," and "moral character." Here are some Old Testament examples to give the sense of the word: •Genesis 18:19: "For I have known [Abraham], in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way [derek]of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." •Genesis 28:20-21: Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way [derek] that I am going, and giveme bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God." •Deuteronomy 8:6: "Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORDyour God, to walk in His ways [derek] and to fear Him." •Joshua 1:8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe todo according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way [derek] prosperous, and then you will have good success." •Isaiah 35:8: A highway shall be there, and a road [derek], and it shall be called the Highway [derek] of Holiness. The sense of this word passed into the New Testament since many of its writers were Hebrew-speaking. Adamson refers to John 14:6, where Jesus tells us He is "the way, the truth, and the life." The author comments, "[Jesus] is letting His followers know that He would walk ahead of us, showing us the way we should live. . . . Jesus is the Way back to the Tree of Life—eternallife—for everyone who believes in Him!" The Greek word for "way" is hodos (Strong's #3598). It means much the same as derek, "a way, a traveled way, road, journey, a course of conduct, a manner of thinking, feeling, (or) deciding." Jesus and other New Testament writers build on the Old Testament concept of God's way. For instance, notice Matthew 7:13-14: Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way [hodos] that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in through it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way [hodos] which leads to life,and there are few who find it." The definitions of derek and hodos tell us many things. A way is a traveled road, and in Jesus' example, the way of destruction is a well-traveled thoroughfare. However, the difficult, narrow, and less-trodden path is far betterand offers greater rewards. A way is also a journey. In Matthew 10:10, sending His disciples on their missionary journeys [hodos], Jesus urges them not to take a bag, two tunics, sandals, or staffs with them. He implies that His disciples must live unencumbered by material things, relying on God's providence. The way is also a manner of thinking, feeling, or deciding, which can be good or bad. The apostle Jude writes of apostates in Jude 11: "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way [hodos] of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaamfor profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah." Those who forsake God's way of life follow the same destructive path as Cain, one of the Bible's prominent examples of living apart from God. Finally, "the Way" is a name for Christianity in the early church (Acts 9:1-2). This name highlights that Christ's message is not just a creed or philosophybut a way of living. Paul tells the governor, Felix, in Acts 24:14, "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets." This term appears nine times in the book of Acts. Reframing Your Brain by Scott Adams deals with changing how we look at things in a way that brings us happiness and success. Adams prefers systems over goals because systems provide us with more options. A worthwhile system can ushera person into a new and better way of life. Although goals are necessary, when we change systems, it causes changes in our behavior that continue long after we have completed our goals. We have all heard the quotation attributed to nineteenth-century author Charles Reade: "When you sow an act, you reap a habit; when you sow a habit, you reap a character; when you sow a character, you reap a destiny." Christianity is a way oflife that follows that course. It is a system designed by God to create humanity in His image, and with our election, He has called us to participate in His way, doing our part in the creative process. We must embrace it and devote ourselves to it. When Jesus tells His disciples that He is the way, He is saying, "Follow the way that I took, conduct your lives as I did, and you will arrive at the right destination." This understanding parallels our Savior's prayer to the Father in John 17:3: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." We come to know God when we attempt to live as He lives. It is a process that not only leads to God's ultimate goal for mankind but also allows us to live forever in peace, harmony, and glory.Eternal life begins right now as we live as God does, and we keep living it into eternity! God is training us right now to learn, live, and teach His way of life because it does not end with His firstfruits. An essential aspect of our jobs as kings and priests in the Millennium will be to teach others the same process that leads to eternal life. And so, when that time comes,we will instruct our eager students in the words of Isaiah 30:21, "This is the way [derek], walk in it." - John Reiss