Reminders of God’s Truth and PowerMostra

Man is unique among God's creatures. He alone bears the immediate marks of the Creator's shaping hand. Formed, like the plants and animals, of the physical stuff of the ground, he nevertheless lives spiritually by direct infusion of the very breath of life, the ruach or Spirit of God. His orientation to reality is therefore double-sided: his eyes are turned both upward and downward. To grasp this fundamental truth is to perceive something of the wonder and the tension of human experience. In what practical ways is my daily existence impacted by the "upward" and "downward" aspects of my dual human nature?

I understand, Lord, that You have special plans for me. I belong to this world because I am part of it. But also I ache to be at home with You in the heavenly realm (2CO.5.2; PHP.1.23), for I bear the stamp of Your divine image as the identifying mark of my humanity. Teach me to negotiate the challenges of this two-sided existence. Deliver me from the temptation to emphasize or exploit one aspect of my God-given nature at the expense of the other. I long to be entirely Yours.