In the beginning was the Word. ~John, the apostle
It starts with an alphabet.
A wondrous journey begins when a child masters the mystery of words. Do you remember that crayon-colored moment, when, in a blink of understanding, black scribbles on paper became something so much more?
A is for apple, and adventure.
The world began with an alphabet carefully arranged, with words flung into the void. And the world is sustained, alphabetically. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning, and the end, Jesus announced.*
The Word of God, an unusual name. God speaks to humanity in the form of a person and as revelation, fashioned into consonants and vowels we can understand. Words, laser-like, penetrate past our defense to the dark questions we’ve forgotten. “Is there a God? If so, what is he like? Who am I? Why am I here? Why am I so messed up? Is there any hope for this beautiful, demented world?”
God answers with a story, plotted on onion skin paper. The story of Jesus, the Christ.
We’re careless with this treasure, the Bible. Though we hold dynamite, we act as if words are lifeless and safely contained within dry-inked boundaries.
- We shop the Bible like a discounted warehouse. Aisle two–rebuke for our teenager. Aisle ten–the encouragement bin, all-purpose verses for every occasion.
- Or we hold the Bible like a magic eight-ball. Close your eyes, open to a random page, and point. There’s your answer to whatever question, maybe.
- Or we cut and paste the Bible, tailoring its wisdom to suit our taste.
We don’t treat other true stories this way, do we?
An Alphabet Adagio
Adagio: a musical term meaning, play slowly and calmly, at ease. The composer invites us to enjoy the experience, not rushing to the finale.
In the coming weeks, we will savor an alphabet adagio, a slow and thrilling look at the story we find ourselves in. We begin with A is for Artist…
Have you thought about the power of alphabet?
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*Revelation 22:13
12 replies on “An Alphabet Adagio”
Yes, funny you ask! .. I have been tasked with the letter “G, g”, for a baby shower gift. All of us who are guests, are decorating a letter-page for the mom of honor, and Embyr, the expected daughter. The packet is laced with green paper, golf and gymnastic stickers, and a cutout of a girl. I really just need to put it together, and give it back.
I am “Gigi”, to my grandchildren, so that was my initial draw to the letter. There is an angst about what I want to represent this 1 of 26 influential letters. I feel as if this will be the only book the child will ever read!
“G” is for God. God is for goodness! Now, that is what I want to have anyone know! Especially, a child! .. I need to put some careful thought into how to bring it to life.
The word. The word is gentle enough for children, yet harsh enough to break pride. Truly, it is healing. It is what The Lord wanted for His children to savor first. To love. Careful thought was put into each letter to bring it to life, from our father to us, His beloved!
With every stroke of the pen, and inspiration from The Spirit, I think God feels as if this will be the only book the child will ever read!
This is lovely, Ginny. God bless little Embyr!
Ahhhh……The heart shaped bite out of that apple is such a profound picture of God’s heart redeeming Eve’s sin and mine by his Amazing grace !
The story of the Bible in a picture!
Can’t wait for the next installment!
[…] to our series, An Alphabet Adagio. We are savoring the story of the Bible, the story where we are found, alphabetically. You can […]
[…] to our series, An Alphabet Adagio. We are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail […]
[…] our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail […]
[…] our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail […]
[…] our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail […]
[…] our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail […]
http://www.teach12.comThis is a terrific capomny. They have a lecture series on the history of the English language. I haven’t used that one yet. The Fairfax, VA county library has virtually all of these. I would assume Loudoun, VA library has them also. You may want to check out the English language one. If it’s any good, please post it. So far I have watched/listened to several of them and they have all been very good. BTW, I don’t work for them. Note that I am saying you can get them for free from the public library so I am not directing people to buy them. They are pretty expensive. Ryan