And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
– Exodus 3:14
The car snakes past the other drivers as we jockey for position in the fast lane.
We accelerate as we leave the city limits, find our places, and settle in for the drive. I give the Jeep its head, and it glides along the river road as if by its own accord.
The old Jeep has made the trip many times. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it’s as eager to get home as I am.
My mind wanders along familiar roads, mentally sorting the day’s events into “done” and “in progress” folders. Like most Americans, I have been sucked into a vortex of busyness that consumes my days.
I am a slave to time. Too often, I get so wrapped up in doing that I forget to be. I need to still my brain. I need time with the Eternal One.
When I first began to search for God years ago, my main stumbling block to Christianity was the doctrine of the Trinity. I couldn’t accept Jesus as God. The idea of three persons in one Godhead was beyond my comprehension.
Actually, it still is. But as I began to read the Bible for myself, I was amazed at the power emanating from the pages. As I studied it, I discovered for myself why we worship the three persons of the Trinity as one God.
One of the many Scriptures that convinced me of Jesus’ deity was John 8:58.
John describes a day the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus as He taught in the Temple in Jerusalem. They accused him of being demon-possessed when He promised eternal life to those who believe in Him. No mere man, they correctly maintained, could offer eternity to humanity.
Jesus’ response floored me: “Before Abraham was born, I am.”
I AM was the name God used for Himself as He spoke to Moses at the burning bush, as described in Exodus 3:14. Jesus applied this title to Himself. He declared Himself to be God, the Word expressed in physical form.
I AM is the perpetual state of being. It transcends time; it has no beginning or end. I AM is to be, always. God doesn’t live forever, in the way we think of the passage of time. Time is His creation. He exists independently of time.
He lives.
In His incarnation, the Word entered time to rescue us. He has called us to pass through time and space in earthly bodies as He did, living toward eternity. He used the time given Him on this earth to walk out the plan of His Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit. His incarnation has granted us the chance to live forever.
Because He is, we are.
Eternal.
