Throughout the scriptures, God has often incorporated
symbols in His messages to us. Symbols
can often have multiple meanings, which can represent multiple facets of truth
simultaneously. That this is true is
evident in visions, such as the Vision of the Tree of Life, and parables, such
as the parable of the ten virgins.
Gospel ordinances, scriptural analogies, and temples are all full of
symbols. It is one of God's principle
method of teaching.
It is my belief that God is just as active at using the
world around us as a teaching implement as He is crafting verses of
scripture. Oftentimes experience is far
more poignant an instructor than mere words, written or spoken. This being true, is it unthinkable for Him to
incorporate symbols in the world around us that are designed to teach each of
us personally the things that we need to know to reach our Divine potential?
In a recent BYU devotional address, Brother Parker from the BYU religion department identified several universal symbols of Christ, such as the way that the Earth
orbits around the Sun, representing our need to rotate around the Son, and the
way we symbolically die and resurrect every time we go to sleep and wake
up. Such symbols are all around us, instructing
us as to how "all things denote there is a God (Alma 30:44)." Everything about the world around us is a
symbol of Jesus Christ.
This thought leads to a simple, logical, yet deeply
important question: Is the way I live my
life a symbol of Christ? Does everything
I do testify of Him? For Abraham, our
forefather, the answer was yes. Born
into a kingdom of idolatry, Abraham brought light to a darkened people, just as
Christ did. From what scripture we have access to, the sacrifice of his son,
Isaac, may be the act that best symbolizes the Atonement. I believe that if we knew his life better, we would
see in many of his smaller acts tiny representations of Christ's own ministry.
When questioned why we do not incorporate the symbol of the cross, President Gordon B.
Hinckley once recounted, ”I replied that the lives of our people must become
the most meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol
of our worship." Why? Because the highest form of love is
emulation. It would be blasphemous for
any of us to say that our works are as great as His, but the sweat and tears
we spend on a act similar to His honors Him in its symbolism of His acts.
Now, if our lives are to
become metaphoric of Christ's, what is the single most important thing we should
focus our heart on? The greatest moment
of Jesus' life was the Atonement, during which he offered a deeply personal,
selfless sacrifice for the salvation of others by uniting His will with God's. As He has sacrificed, so should we sacrifice
whatever is necessary to aid the salvation of others. When our hearts are ruled by love, sometimes
we don't need a direct command from the Spirit in order to know what God's will
is. Simply loving others is not enough
to aid their salvation, but using that love as a motivating power to crush the
limitations of what we are willing to do in order to submit our will to His
works miracles. Miracles are a sign that
our lives are in harmony with God's will, for, "there was
not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed
every whit from his iniquity."
I know that as Sons and
Daughters of God, pure divinity can run through our veins and out our hearts,
bleed from our pores through selfless sacrifice and rush into the lives
of those we love like the arms of Jesus that clash them tight and as He whispers in their ear that everything
will be OK. When we truly love as God
loves and recognize our opportunity to positively influence others, there is nothing in all this world or in eternity that would not be
worth the price. Absolutely
nothing. That sacrifice which is symbolically
offered in the name of Jesus Christ can change a person's life, worlds without
end. It is the only thing that ever has.
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