Divine Encounters

I've never seen the musical Wicked, but I absolutely love the music in it. One particular song that impacts me every time I hear it is one of the final musical numbers known as "For Good". This song has been performed at almost every graduation that I've attended in the last two years and I haven't gotten tired of hearing it yet, mostly because of the deep truths in it. Here are some of the lyrics:

"I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good."

"It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you'll have rewritten mine
By being my friend.

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you..."

"Because I knew you..."

"I have been changed for good."

Every once in a while, I'll look at a specific shelf in my room, where I store several sentimental items from various places and people. As I study it, I remember a few of the many friends, acquaintances, and classmates who have come in and out of my life and impacted me in some way. I know that I've met more people than I ever could've imagined meeting in only eighteen years of life, and I will meet infinitely more in my whole lifetime.

Reflecting on these thoughts makes me realize why I appreciate the song from Wicked so much. Every person who has come in and out of my life has impacted me in some way, leaving "a handprint on my heart" and rewriting my story. This is true of everyone in the world, I believe. We all meet people and each of them make some type of impact, small or large, on the way we view the world. Whether we realize it or not, we are being affected by the behavior of our friends, family, acquaintances, and even by strangers at every moment of every day. Since our encounters with others are so pivotal to our lives, it can obviously be concluded that our Heavenly Father is the one who orchestrates them all. 

I know I've mentioned this verse before, but I absolutely love it, so I'll mention it again...

"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)

This verse compares Jesus to an author- an author of our faith, specifically. 

What does this mean in relation to the whole "encounters with others" concept?

Well, a well-known verse, Jeremiah 29:11, talks about how He has a plan for each of us. This plan is ultimately a plan of our faith journey. So, naturally, part of the Author's plan is to introduce specific characters into our stories, one by one, little by little, to direct our paths and point our eyes back to Him in some way or form. He uses others to INITIATE each step we take in our walks of faith. 

One of my good friends and I were discussing God's plans the other day and we came up with a beautiful analogy for this...

What if God looks down on our lives like a two-dimensional timeline, drawn out on a piece of paper? He can look all around it, in three dimensions, while we can only move forward on it. AND, what if our timelines intersect with others? What if the Author himself is the one who chooses to intersect them, in perfect, indescribable ways. It's a giant network that He creates, far more complex than we could ever imagine. One of my teachers once called this phenomenon "divine encounters".

So, what does this mean for us? Well, it means that the people intersecting with our timelines are both an opportunity and a blessing to us.

First, they're a blessing because God put them there for a reason! I look at my core groups of friends from my various areas in life and can't help but smile when I think about them. We've done so many fun things together and unknowingly or knowingly, my friends have all taught me truths about my faith in Christ because of our interactions. And, they all came into my life "by accident", in a manner of speaking. Seemingly random circumstances, such as doing a difficult group project in my Discipleship class, having to stay after school and wait for my mom to pick me up in 3rd grade while most of the other kids went to eat lunch, being forced to join marching band by my parents, and switching schools in my junior year of high school have brought me some of the friends I have today.

But, "divine encounters" are also an opportunity for each of us. Think about it. If you are affected by the people you meet and do life with, then consequently, others will be affected by you. How will you use your time with others? The more time we spend thinking about how much WE can get out of the friendship for ourselves or who we wish we could be friends with instead (such as a popular clique or a person of the opposite sex who has "special significance" in your mind), the less of an impact we will be able to make.

Every "hello" or "goodbye" is for a reason. Sometimes, we don't want to accept these circumstances that cause "hello"s and "goodbye"s, especially if they go against the plan that we originally had. But, God has wonderful divine encounters planned for you within each of these changes. I look back at all of the circumstances that I mentioned two paragraphs ago. To be honest, I hated each of those circumstances to begin with, as silly as some of them were. But, as I remember who was brought into my life through each of them, I realize that it was worth it. The Author knows best and "I have been changed for good".

Heliotropes, Searching for Something More

Are you ready for my attempts to be deep? Here we go...

Over this last semester in my World Literature class, I've had a very interesting time trekking into the thoughts and dreams of many influential writers who have also tried to be very deep.  I know this is weird, but I have actually really enjoyed studying some of the works that I've read in this class, even though the reading itself was often a little too heavy for my liking.

I kept noticing one specific idea throughout almost all of these stories, especially after digging deeply into the texts and trying to understand the societal and personal desires that drove the writers forward.

This one concept can be summed up excellently by a great analogy that one of my friends once said. He explained that each of us have a hole in our hearts, shaped like a circle, and every time we try to fill it with something that isn't God, it's like trying to stop up this hole with little cubes. Instead, the only way we will ever be satisfied is if we let God, who is shaped like a cylinder, fill us completely and correctly.

So, that's what it is; that's the common thread throughout almost every work of literature I read this year: a deep desire for something more and an underlying feeling of unease whenever another "cube" was tried out in God's place. Of course, none of these authors really seemed to really mention God directly, but their deep, heartfelt yearnings and pleadings pointed to wanting...more.

And let me just say, as soon as I began to think about this concept, I began to see it, over and over again throughout art, literature, and essentially any type of medium that communicated the deepest yearnings of the human heart.

It reminds me of a word that I learned quite a while ago that has always stuck with me for some reason: heliotrope. "Helio" is the Greek word for sun while "trepo" is the word for turn. A heliotrope is a plant that always turns towards the sun; it sense the light and grows towards it.

In a manner of speaking, we as human beings are also heliotropes; looking at the thoughts and dreams of mankind clearly shows this pattern of turning towards the Son, knowingly or unknowingly, on our quests for something more.

Let me show you a few of the spontaneous examples that I've found over the last few weeks. They don't all have important significance or anything, but I personally enjoy them.

Music- Coldplay- "Cathedrals in my heart." (from Every Teardrop is a Waterfall)

I absolutely love this line from this song. It shows some type of yearning for a bigger purpose, a bigger look up into the expansive universe and our part in it. 

Writing- Henry David Thoreau- "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."

This was in the context of Thoreau's work called Walden, which spends several, rather difficult-to-read passages describing how we can come across new, unanswered questions about our very purpose  in life by going out in nature. But, towards the end, he says this outstanding line. It seems to ask the question, if we aren't conforming to the mundane life of this world and we're wishing for more, what if it's because there IS something more? He doesn't even answer who or what the different drummer is, but his words reach up and out, wondering what drives these inward desires for more. 

Film- Christopher Nolan- "Maybe we’ve spent too long trying to figure all this out with theory. Love is the one thing that transcends time and space." (said by the character Dr. Amelia Brand from Interstellar)

This film is incredible, first off. Second, this quote is absolutely amazing, despite the fact that Dr. Brand is talking about romantic love in this sentence. In fact, this mind-blowing film seems to pass right over light, typical mentions of romantic love seen in most movies and get to a deeper matter. What exactly is love? What can explain it and how are we somehow able to feel it for others? The characters in the movie even directly discuss how evolution can't explain the phenomenon of loving others. 

I feel like this blog post is going in so many different directions right now, and that's because I'm trying to talk about something that is so huge and cannot really be explained, just felt.

That is, again, this desire for something BIGGER.

I've come across opinions from people who refuse to believe in God and try to put everything into small terms. They almost seem afraid to stretch their minds into the unknown; they want to discover and know everything. But honestly, can't we all see and feel that there has to be something greater than ourselves out there? Science is constantly changing; there is nothing certain about our own knowledge, so we need to trust in something more.

Romans 1:20 says, "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

We ALL innately know Him; that's an absolutely amazing thought.

So what now? What do we do with this? Well, we can see evidence of our God through the circle in each of our hearts. We can also realize that every single person that we meet in the world has this same circle in each of their own hearts. What will we do with this fact? Will we point them to the ultimate Cylinder with our words and actions or just to another cube?

The Wind- another poem

A picture from the beach trip I was on this week, which is when I wrote this poem. Nope, it's not the best picture. But I chose it because it juxtaposes the wonder of the beach and the sunset with the normality of the random street and of everyday life, which is what I attempted to do in my poem too.

Background on this poem:

One of the strongest images of God that I've seen over the past few years is seeing Him as the Controller of the wind and where it blows. So, I decided to write a poem about a few of the situations in which I've felt God's presence strongly, through the wind. After writing this poem, I discovered that the Greek word πνεῦμα, pronounced as "pneuma", actually means both "wind" and "spirit"! I also came across this Bible verse, which seems to tie into the entire concept perfectly:

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Job 3:8

The Wind

[Awestruck wonder]

On the outstretched beach,

Toes in the sand

Endless, boundless sea.

Blasting my face with brine,

Making my soul come alive-

The Wind.

[Inexplicable peace]

On a sluggish, bobbing dock,

Notebook on my lap

Tranquil, swirling lake. 

Rippling my hair gently,

Breathing life into me-

The Wind.

[Daily joy]

On a ragged stretch of asphalt,

Feet moving methodically

Cheery, dancing trees. 

Turning my face to a smile, 

Warming my heart with joy-

The Wind.

[Calmed anxiety]

On an open, rocky field,

Shoulders burdened with unease

Dry, crackling grass. 

Brushing my face lovingly,

Blowing hot teardrops away-

The Wind.

They once told me

When I was too young to understand:

You're like the wind;

Unseen, unknown, unimaginable.

And full of power and love.

Maybe I'm beginning

To understand now. 

Sailing into the Dark World- a poem

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/odyssey1/ss/062508POdyssey_6.htm
A powerful scene from The Odyssey in which Odysseus is tempted by the song of the deadly Sirens.

Sailing into the Dark World

(inspired by thematic elements fromThe Odyssey and Ephesians 6:13-18)

As I sail into the dark world and enter a realm

Of evil and darkness and powers unimaginable

Lord, direct, control, take hold of my ship’s helm

Give me Your armor to battle against the one

Who wagers war again my soul

Whose deceptive guises shine brighter than the sun

I want the belt of truth strapped around my waist

To keep away the creeping lies

And their sharp-edged, bittersweet taste

Put a breastplate of righteousness over my heart

To guard it from flying arrows and piercing swords

That will try to attack me and tear me apart

Strap the gospel of peace tightly on my feet

To keep me calm, focused, and standing strong

Only hearing the sweeter song of Your perfect beat

Place the shield of faith in my left hand

So I can push forward without seeing the end

Trusting You to help me find where I need to land

Present me with the helmet of salvation to defend my mind

From the imaginings, dreams, faulty hopes

The sin-filled hallucinations of every kind

Lastly, bestow the sword of the Spirit on me

So I can respond to every threat with strength

Make me a crewman of Your word so I can truly be free

What's in a Name?

The Hebrew spelling for "Yahweh"

As I've stated before, I am a writer; shaping my words into fiction or trying to put the musings of my mind into tangible material is one of my favorite hobbies. But, I have a favorite type of word, if it can be called that. One of my absolute favorite parts about writing is the study of names. In fact, during my free time, you might find me surfing the web for the most obscure names I can possibly find or combing through a thick volume entitled,"100,000+ Baby Names", for hours on end. 

So, when I discovered the significance of names in Jewish culture and how it relates to my faith, I was pretty thrilled.

 See, back in Bible times, people would name their children according to their current circumstances, inspiration from God, or hopes for their child's future. It was more than just a combination of letters or something that sounded nice; it was a hint into the rest of the child's life. A few examples of names and their correspondences to the destinies of their owners include...

Isaac- "he laughs" (since Sarah laughed when she was told about his birth), Moses- "to draw out" (since he was drawn out of the river as a baby), David- beloved (he was a man after God's own heart, according to scripture), Paul- humble (he discusses humility A LOT in his letters and proves his own humility through his actions throughout the Bible).

Isn't that amazing?! God would inspire the parents of these Biblical heroes to name their children such meaningful, relevant names. 

It's cool, yes, but you're probably wondering, what's the point of this, anyway? How does this relate to a relationship with God?

Well, this morning at church during our worship service, I began to think about all of the names given to God Himself. We say them day after day (in good and bad ways), read them over and over in the Bible, and hear them from the mouths of other people; eventually, they just become average words in our Christian-ese vocabulary.

But, since God's character is often reflected in the ways of His chosen people and the Jewish people value names so highly, why wouldn't God's names be significant as well?

So, today, I'm going to list three of the more frequently-used names of God and a few amazing things about each of them...

1. "LORD"- this is a generic word, yes. I remember when I first learned terms for social classes in medieval days and came across this word. Yes, the "lords" were a medieval social class! But, we need to realize that this is a very different word from what we picture alongside fearless knights and ladies wearing poofy dresses and cone-shaped hats. Whenever we see the word "LORD" printed in the Bible in all caps, that means that it's directly translated from the word "Yahweh" in Hebrew. Yeah, that sounds familiar, doesn't it? We use that in Sunday school culture sometimes, but we often neglect to realize the gravity of the word. Recently, I learned that "Yahweh" isn't even pronounceable in Hebrew! It was spelled Y-H-W-H. We just added in the vowels for clarity. This inability to pronounce YHWH meant something important to God's people; it demonstrated that God was so holy that his name couldn't even be said out loud! The literal translation of YHWH makes God's character even more cryptic than this. It closely means, "I am."

The name "I am" was first introduced after Moses receives the ten commandments and he asked God how he should introduce Him. God simply responded, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14)

Wow. Pretty mind blowing. God has such a unique, holy, and matchless character that a name can't even be given to define His glory! It would be like trying to find the end of pi. It just can't happen.

2. "Father"- we see God called this about a million times in the Bible and probably know it as a normality. But, when it was first introduced to the disciples, I'm sure it was a strange concept. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus actually has to TEACH his disciples to call God this name as he says the Lord's Prayer for the first time. It's the most paradoxical contradiction from YHWH, isn't it? Our God is somehow too holy to be defined, but personable enough to be called a term of endearment. The word "Father" brings a beautiful image to my mind. It reminds me of a comparison I heard from Mike Donehey, the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North, while at one of their concerts a few weeks ago. He explained that the reason why we some of us raise our arms during worship became fully evident to him when he himself became a father and saw his little girl raising her arms up to him. It was an unspoken request that meant, "carry me." 

By telling us to call Him "Father", God wants us to know how much He cares for us and loves us and won't ever hesitate to carry us when we need help. Psalm 91:4 illustrates this so well:

"He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

3. "Jesus"- Jesus translates to mean something like "savior" or "to save". While many people may make the argument that Jesus is an overused name that was given to hundreds of Hebrew boys back in the day and therefore has no significance, I think that it has more power than that. Of course, I need to make another Narnia reference at this point to explain why...

An incredible moment in this series occurs as the Pevensie children hear the name of "Aslan", the allegorical character for Jesus, for the first time. Here, let me quote it for you...

"And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer."

~Chapter 7, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

In the same way, the name "Jesus" has an inexplicable connection underneath it. While the words "God", "Lord", or even "Savior" can sound generic and unobtrusive, "Jesus" narrows down and defines our faith, shows that we identify with the incarnation of our God and His sacrifice for us.

In fact, Philippians 2:10 tells us, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth."

Notice that it doesn't say that we will bow to "God", "Lord", or even "I am" or "Yahweh". This mere fact shows that the true "Author and Perfecter of our faith"(Hebrews 12:2) is Jesus Christ.

So, in the end, what does this mean for us? Well, it simply shows us how huge and matchless and mysterious our God is. He is YHWH, the inexplicable and glorious One, Father, the loving and personable One, and Jesus, the One on whom we build our faith, our salvation, and our lives.

After learning all of this, I hope and pray that we'll all see the significance of God's name differently than ever before. Sometimes, it's easy just to minimize the importance of His name into nothingness or just see Him as a tiny genie in a bottle or an unapproachable, angry judge. But, He's neither of those things. His names tell us all about His real character.

(all information about names comes from the "So That the World May Know" curriculum from Focus on the Family and behindthename.com)