The air we breathe is holy air. This concept melts my brain a little, but you and I breathe the same air Jesus breathed. The same oxygen that is giving life to His body, gives life to our bodies.
I first heard this concept listening to a podcast with Neil deGrasse Tyson. He explained the Earth’s atmosphere is essentially a closed system. Oxygen and the other components of air are continually recycled and redistributed across the planet. Because gases disperse thoroughly over 2,000 years, scientists like Tyson note that every single time you inhale, you are statistically taking in multiple molecules that once passed through the lungs of Jesus.
As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity. (Job 27: 2-7 NIV)
So often, God feels distant, and the life of Jesus seems so long ago. There have been many times when I have felt empty and alone. In those moments, I pause and remember that the oxygen flowing through my body, the breath filling my lungs, is part of the very life God first created. It is the holy air Jesus breathed. That same holiness flows through me and through you. There is comfort in this reminder that God is near, even when I feel alone. It also calls me to honor the holy presence within me by living it out in my words, my actions, and the way I move through the world.
What does holy air mean to you? Share your experience here and breathe life and bring hope to others.