So you wake up and jump out of bed excited to begin another day. Your thoughts have already transitioned from the prior day and you are focused on the next steps and then the next and then the next.

Now there are some people who wake up and their minds go directly to God. Probably in thanksgiving for making it to another day or maybe with prayer for an answer or relief from suffering.

Then there are those few who wake up in awe of life. I am breathing. My heart is beating. My brain is thinking. I am alive.

They have a deep sense of God in their lives. They are awed by their very existence.

The depth of the miracle of life is not lost on these. But the details of how it all works, may remain obscure 

How does this body of sinew, bone, muscle, water, chemicals, skin, tissue keep operating without an obvious consistent energy source? How is life given and sustained? That is, until something happens that interferes with the bodily functions enough to cause it all to stop.

The human body is an incredible feat of biological engineering, yet without “Life in the Absolute,” it remains inanimate. To understand this, it is helpful to look at two Greek words for life used in the New Testament: Bios and Zoe.

• Bios (Bιˊος): This is our physical, biological machinery—the bone, chemistry, and DNA that comprise the body. It is finite and subject to death.
• Zoe (Zωηˊ​): This is “life in the absolute”—the eternal life of God shared with humanity.

Think of a lightbulb: Bios is the glass, filament, and physical structure, while Zoe is the electricity flowing through it.

As Christians, we view the human person as a unity of body, soul, and spirit. The body is our physical presence; the soul (mind, will, and emotion) is our internal expression; and the spirit is the unseen “breath of God.”

While we have confidence in the scientific reality of Bios, we recognize that our existence isn’t just a matter of chemistry. We are sustained by Zoe—a life that death cannot touch.

“Zoe describes the eternal life of God, which He shares with humanity.”

We are primarily taught by Biblical teachers that God is love. But what is equally important and true, is that God is life.

Without God, life is impossible. And, with God there is life in abundance. This describes a life that is not just physically sustained, but spiritually overflowing with purpose, joy, and peace.

We may never fully grasp what it means to be made in the image of God, but we can certainly live out the result of it. God is Life, and we are partakers of that Life and our presence should naturally displace darkness, and hopelessness wherever we stand. We don’t have to be loud to be effective; we just have to be connected to the Source.

So, the next time you wake up and your feet hit the floor, take a moment before the ‘next steps’ begin. Feel the breath in your lungs—that’s your Bios. But then, acknowledge the current flowing through the bulb—that’s your Zoe. You aren’t just a body of sinew and bone navigating a busy day; you are a vessel of the Divine, poured into and breathed upon. As you go into your home, your office, or your community, remember that you aren’t just carrying a schedule—you are carrying Life.

Perhaps the greatest miracle isn’t that the body works, but that the Creator chose to dwell within the machinery. We are never alone, never forsaken, and never truly empty. We are sustained by a source that does not run dry and a memory of a Face we have yet to see but have always known.

When we live from our Zoe instead of just our Bios, we stop merely “surviving” the day and start lighting the world.

We are twice-breathed beings. The first breath, the Breath of Life, made us living souls; the second breath, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, sustains us for the journey and connects us solidly to God’s eternal life. One got us started; the other brings us home. Stay tuned as we dive into the mystery of the Spirit’s role in moving us from mere Bios to “Life in the Absolute.”