Light, Circularity, and Relationships

This has been on my mind for quite some time. I believe in circles. I believe that things are created to be in relationship with one another, and the relationship follows a infinitely circular pattern. This started in, what I believe is, the beginning.

Genesis 1:1-5

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

 ³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

According to the Bible, God devoted His first day of creation to drawing a distinction between light and darkness. Without the darkness, there would be no light and vice versa. Without the light, there would be no darkness. The interaction between the entities is needed to create the working system of day and night. They follow an infinitely circular pattern of light slowly moving toward darkness and darkness slowing moving toward light.

God continued to form circular patterns in the creation story. In fact, according to the bible, God dedicated His first four days to making distinctions to create the circular system of the earth. Day two – the distinction of water from sky. Day three – the distinction of water from land. Day four – the distinction of night from day. Through distinctions, God created the system of the heavens and the earth. Each of the seemingly opposite entities interact with one another to create a circular relationship. 

Here are my thoughts and questions:

This idea of circular relationship is a recurring theme in creation large and small. Some quick examples: the Water Cycle, Planets orbiting the Sun, Personal Relationships.

God set in motion the fundamental aspect of human life - - Relationship. All things about us are designed to interact with others through relationship.

Often times, people try to solve problems in a linear fashion. We tend to forget the circular pattern that God set in motion. We try to solve problems apart from all that are involved, contributing, and are in relationship to the problem. If God designed us to be in relationship, how can we view problems independent from other people?

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Gate-Keeping, Seeds, and Responsibility

Over the last twenty years, my parents have done a wonderful job of building a home that our family has grown up in, out in, and in and out of. They decided to build the house, which got them the design they wanted, but left the landscape lacking. The nice new house situated in red Louisiana dirt seemed less than picturesque. So, my Grandfather started throwing seeds. I vividly remember him wearing his coveralls in the Louisiana heat and walking around the backyard while spinning the seed thrower.  Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick. The seeds just flew out as he walked and spinned, walked and spinned. This image has stuck with me through the years.

Matthew 13: 3-8

³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

I think the important part of this passage is that the farmer threw the seed. He didn’t pick and choose where to throw the seed; he just threw it. Just like my Grandfather, tick tick tick tick tick tick tick. Walk and spin, walk and spin. He just threw the seed. 

I think that as Christians we often times take on the role of gate-keeping for the church. We’ve ‘gifted’ ourselves with the job of deciding what is and what isn’t. In doing this, we’ve created guidelines and have determined what things/people are ‘supposed’ to look like or ‘supposed’ to be. With the gate-keeping role that we’ve given ourselves, I think we’ve limited our view of where to throw seeds. I think that we trample on The Gift that God has given us - - we miss opportunities to share Love, Life, and Grace with others. We take the role of God by debating, defining, and practicing our theology while imposing our methodologies on others. Is this our responsibility?

Here are my thoughts and questions:

What is my responsibility?

In the movie The Nativity Story (2006) a shepherd timidly approaches baby Jesus. The shepherd reaches to touch Him and then pulls away, as if he wasn’t good enough to touch the King. Mary leans Jesus close to the shepherd and says, “He is for all mankind.”

How am I throwing the seed?

How can I remind myself and others to simply throw the seed? To not focus on gate-keeping who can participate in community, communion, or collective worship - - He is for all mankind.

We don’t make the seeds take root and grow. No amount of our gate-keeping can add to or take away from the Life that God creates in the seed. 

Again, what is my responsibility?

My awesome and talented sister took both of these pictures at our family farm.

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