There is more to you than meets the eye. The bible presents a picture of mankind that is more than physical. At the beginning of the bible we find that God made us out of dust (matter/molecules/carbon?) and then he:
“breathed in to Adam the breath of life and he became a living being.” (Gen 2:7)
Adam was built from dust but had life imparted to him in some way. Life is not merely a result of biological complexity. Man did not spontaneously come to life as God scooped him together, however you want to understand that. He needed life imparted to him.
The Bible says:
Thus declares the LORD, who …formed the spirit of man within him: (ESV) Zech 12:1
the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. (ESV) Eccl 12:7
The bible assumes that the Spirit lives on after death:
as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. (ESV) Acts 7:59
Did you spot something in those last two verses? ; The phrases “return to God” and “receive my Spirit” explain why much of our spiritual activity is an attempt to go home. We feel lost and are endlessly searching for a way back home. We were made as personal spiritual beings to have an eternal relationship with a loving God.
Somewhere, in all spirituality, is an attempt to reach out for him. The story of mankind starts in a garden where man lives with God. He rebels, gets kicked out and goes his own way. It’s a bit like a misguided teenager whose leaves home after a blazing hormone fuelled, selfish fit or anger and rage. They think their parents can’t be trusted, have let them down, have no right to tell them what to do and are stopping them from living life for themselves. At night, on the streets though, their thoughts often turn to home. Jesus tells a story just like that but far from the bridges being burnt, he pictures God as a loving Father waiting for his son to return and running to him when he sees him in the distance.
Marcus Tutt's Blog 