How does God fit into the modern day Jewish life experience?

As a Jewish person, I never used to believe that God was relevant to my life. I didn’t find value in spiritual things. I was raised to be independent, successful, a valuable member of society , a nice person and a good Jewish girl. In this day and age, where does God fit into any of those things? From what I experienced growing up in the Jewish religion I found nothing in it that would help me accomplish the goals set before me. In a world filled with choices, I began to read and study New Age philosophy, Eastern Mysticism, Buddism, Taoism, Theosophy and Native American spirituality. I believed everything to be truth and continued down the path of my spiritual quest. In 1991 a friend invited me to a Christian bible study. As a spiritual seeker I was open to hear about Christianity, but had no idea that what I would encounter that night would change my life forever. I also had no idea that it would bring me full circle back to my Jewish roots as the foundation for a truly powerful spiritual life, in intimate relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Creator of the universe. This relationship would ultimately allow me to accomplish all the goals set before me, and more.

For the first time in my life I was told of the Messiah, a Savior. His name was Jesus.  In Hebrew, His Name was Yeshua, which means ‘God is salvation.’  The God of Israel had come to earth again.  He had been here before as we read about in the Torah.  This time He came in the form of a man to give up His life and die as a perfect and final sacrifice for the sins of humanity, fulfilling the sacrificial system that He had commanded the children of Israel to set up through Moses, at Mt. Sinai. Yeshua was born and raised as a child in Israel. He demonstrated supernatural wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures at a very young age and lived life in perfect submission to law and righteousness.  The whole story seemed far-fetched to me, God coming to earth as Jesus???  Jewish people don’t believer that – period!  But, the night I heard that message the supernatural power that accompanied it touched me in a very real, and a very deep place. I immediately knew that it could only be the power of God working to reveal the truth to me. I accepted the message that night as truth and asked Yeshua to pay for my sins personally and to be the Lord of my life. In doing so He promised to give me power to live a victorious life now, and the future assurance of eternal life with God in heaven. I put my faith in the Messiah of Israel and my life has never been the same. I began to pour over and study the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings of the Old Testament and the Brit HaChadasha (The New Testament) as well.  I saw how they are supernaturally entwined together and paint the beautiful story of God’s Love for humanity and His desire for us all to live in relationship with Him.  I began to walk on the path set out for me through what I was learning in the Scriptures.  I was shocked to find out that books written thousands of years ago absolutely had relevance to my life today!  Since professing my faith in Yeshua and studying the Word of God, miracles have happened in my life that I can only attribute to the power of God that now lives inside of me. I put my complete trust in God and He proves Himself to be faithful time and time again.

Gradually everything that I was raised to practice in relationship to Judaism began to make sense when looking at it through the lens of Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. Now my life is lived celebrating all the Jewish holidays and feasts with a deep understanding and gratitude for what God was having us (the Jewish people) memorialize by keeping the holidays, which all supernaturally in minute details point to Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah. It is truly miraculous to see that and to have the privilege of understanding what God has accomplished through Christ/Messiah – who came in the lineage of the Jewish people – for the sake of all humanity. Now being Jewish is a great honor and a privilege, not just empty tradition and religion.  And yes, it is completely relevant to the goals set before me to be successful, a value to society, a nice person and a good Jewish girl, in God’s eyes!

As a Jewish person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, I have the privilege of understanding the Holy Scriptures and applying them to my life. Every day is spent seeking to know God more while developing a deeper intimacy with Hiim that brings complete satisfaction to me as a person. It also enables me to live in complete fullfillment and contentment, knowing and experiencing what it truly is to be a “child of God.” I have the privilege of shining God’s light and love in a dark world. I have the privilege of helping people to have hope where there is none. I have the honor of knowing and speaking truth amid lies.

The love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control that are mine because of my relationship with God, only made possible through faith in Yeshua the Messiah, are the proof that what I believe is true and God’s perfect plan for every Jewish person on the face of the earth.

Advertisement