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Little Messiahs

By Toby Janicki | Comments (2) | Posted on September 2, 2008

We are now in the month of Elul, and this is traditionally the time when we begin taking a spiritual inventory of ourselves as we prepare for the High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Psalm 27 is read at the end of the three daily prayer services and the sofar is sounded in the morning as a call to repentence. Last week I found something that I feel is pertinent for this time of year in two sources from opposite ends of the spectrum. One was a book by an Orthodox rabbi and the other was by C S Lewis.

In Lewis' book Mere Christianity he writes that the ultimate purpose of the body of Messiah is to become "little Christs" and then to go out and make "little Christs" of everyone else. Essentially the idea is that we are all to become like Messiah as much as possible, which is the heart of discipleship.

In the book Highlights of Moshiach by Rabbi Avraham Stone, he mentions the Jewish tradition that inside everyone is "the spark of the soul of the Messiah." Interestingly enough 1 Peter 1:11 talks about the "spirit of Messiah" in the prophets and Galatians 4:6 states that, "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts." ("Spirit" in Hebrew is ruach and can refer to "soul" as well.) According to Rabbi Stone the practical implications of this is that we can begin the final work of Messiah now by helping to refine the world in preparation for his coming.

When you combine these two concepts it paints an exciting picture for this month. As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah which many believe prophetically points to the return of the Master Yeshua, we have some serious work to do in getting ready for his coming. God has indeed called us to become "little Messiahs." Yet, he doesn't leave this up to our own devices but has placed the "Spirit of Messiah" within us enabling us to carry out the important task of creating disciples and repairing the world.

As we all begin taking stock of our lives at this season may we all be strengthened in Messiah to repent and rededicate ourselves to our call as his disciples.

About the Author: Toby Janicki is a teacher, writer and speaker for FFOZ. He is also a writer for messiah magazine and the author of the Restoration Workbook and a new book on the Mezuzah.

Visitor Comments

Amen. Amen.

Posted by: D.A. Fluker Jr. | September 2, 2008 3:27 PM

I personally understand the teachings of the month of Elul and the primary reason for it is to evaluate our lives toward G-d and man, and to repent and return to G-d, and make amends with our fellow man. My family has only in the last 3 years been understanding the Hebraic roots of our faith in Messiah. I am now teaching them about this month of Elul and what it stands for but I am haveing a little problem with them seeing that it is important for us to do, even though we have already repented and returned to the L-rd a long time ago. They tell me that it is only tradition and it has no biblical teaching, and that it is not found in the scripture. They have had their fill of traditions because of the traditions we kept for years in the Christian church. So I am asking any of you that think you know where to find this tradition in the "Word of God" and if Yeshua kept it. They will never think it is for the believer today if they cannot find it in the "Word of G-d".

**Toby's Response:** Good question. I feel that when we are grafted into the house of Israel we join them in the family customs. Elul is one of them. It makes perfect sense to me to begin repenting 40 days before Yom Kippur. The time frame of 40 days is found throughout the bible as a significant time of purification and repentance like Moses receiving the Torah or the rain while Noah was in the ark. I also believe that most likely Yeshua spent his forty days in the wilderness during this time. I can’t prove it but it seems to make sense that the Father would choose such a time.

Posted by: Annette | September 6, 2008 7:27 PM

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