September 12, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Rene Descartes (French philosopher)

“I think, therefore I Am”. (Descartes was a mathematician, and scientist – he was dubbed the father of modern western philosophy)

“Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said,” Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.'” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.…” Exodus 3:13-15

Descartes was thinking one day when he thought he hit upon as a primary truth – and it came in answer to a question he was pondering “Is there anything I can know with absolute certainty?” What struck him was the thought that since he was always thinking, this equated with his “Being-ness”, or in other words, his “identity”. Since he is thinking, therefore “I Am.” Descartes, rather than stumbling upon the ultimate truth, had stumbled instead on the ultimate identity, the “Ego”.

We know, of course, that Moses was called by G-d through the burning bush to accept the challenge to lead G-d’s people out of slavery in Egypt, into freedom. Moses was skeptical, as any of us might have been at the time. His skepticism was not so much about the calling, but whether he was the right person for the job. And when he famously asked the question “What is (your) name?” G-d famously answered ““I AM WHO I AM….thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.”” What G-d had just told Moses is that G-d is not a thing, G-d is……verb more than noun, action more than a thing. G-d is action, G-d is presence, G-d is mystery, G-d is Being. We all struggle to “Be” something, and mostly we struggle to know “Who” we are. “Who Am I?” is the question many people ponder every day. Instead of wondering if “Am I this?” or “Am I that?”, we need to remember that we are all part of the “Great I AM.” Before we were formed in the womb, G-d knew us, and continues to know us in ways we will never fully fathom. And since G-d created us, our identity begins with not “What Am I?” but “Whose Am I?” We are G-d’s children, and this is what gives us our true “Being-ness” – our true identity.

Pastor Dave