A 'Blessed Thought' from The Odes of Solomon
I was praying through Ode 1 from The Odes of Solomon this morning.
The image is of God as a crown woven from living plants that blossom and bear the fruit of salvation. God is this crown ever-present on our heads. The thought I had was that in the image the blossom and the fruit (salvation) is not something distinct from the crown but a part of it. Sometimes we think of salvation as a gift, distinct from God, that God gives to us. But at a deeper level the gift of salvation is the transforming presence of God himself.
A similar thought is found in John's gospel. There Jesus gives living water that wells up to eternal life. But this 'water' is the Spirit of God. In other words, for John, eternal life is not simply God enabling us to exist for a long time. It is the very life of God himself - the Spirit - indwelling us, animating us and drawing us into communion with the Father and the Son.
Salvation and eternal life is, in the words of Henry Scougal (1650-1678), "the life of God in the soul of man."
Ode 1
The Lord is on my head like a crown, and I shall never be without Him.
Plaited for me is the crown of truth, and it caused Your branches to blossom in me.
For it is not like a parched crown that blossoms not;
For You live upon my head, and have blossomed upon me.
Your fruits are full and complete; they are full of Your salvation....
The image is of God as a crown woven from living plants that blossom and bear the fruit of salvation. God is this crown ever-present on our heads. The thought I had was that in the image the blossom and the fruit (salvation) is not something distinct from the crown but a part of it. Sometimes we think of salvation as a gift, distinct from God, that God gives to us. But at a deeper level the gift of salvation is the transforming presence of God himself.
A similar thought is found in John's gospel. There Jesus gives living water that wells up to eternal life. But this 'water' is the Spirit of God. In other words, for John, eternal life is not simply God enabling us to exist for a long time. It is the very life of God himself - the Spirit - indwelling us, animating us and drawing us into communion with the Father and the Son.
Salvation and eternal life is, in the words of Henry Scougal (1650-1678), "the life of God in the soul of man."
Comments
Thanks for your blog. You have blessed me.
John B.