Namaste

Namaste is a traditional Indian greeting that many people understand to be the equivalent of “Hello.” From what I have read recently, it conveys so much more meaning than that, though. Shane Claiborne, in his book The Irresistible Revolution, mentions that from his experience working in Calcutta, namaste means something along the lines of “I see God in you” or “I honor the Holy One who lives in you.” Yeah, go ahead and point out that the Hindu gods/ Buddha are not the one true God. I understand, and agree, but I think the meaning behind the idea of namaste is an incredible one, no matter the deity being spoken of.

In The Valley of Vision (a collection of Puritan prayers) there is one prayer called “The All-Good” that talks about God’s goodness to us, and the goodness of His divine will, even when we don’t recognize it. Suddenly, another connection appears—“My God, thou hast helped me to see… that it is an amazing thing to see Deity in a creature, speaking, acting, filling, shining through it…” How beautiful it is to see God in someone, indeed!

All humans were created in the image of God. That is something that gives me hope: God loved humanity enough to set us apart from the rest of animal kind and put the image of Himself in us. And if you look, you can clearly see God in other people. Their talents and abilities clearly reflect how God has blessed them. Moreover, their personality reflects the image of God. I love being able to see how she sweetly and endearingly shows God’s love to everyone around her, how he has such startling and true insight into people and life, how she can use logic and reason in such a skillful way that makes her argument strong, how he can take something chaotic or broken and innovate a way to make it beautiful and functional. I see God in them.

"To love another person is to see the face of God." This quote from Les Miserables adds another dimension to the whole seeing God in a person idea. It is through loving one another that we truly see God in a person. Selfless love, like the love Christ had for the Church, really enables us  to see them for who they are and see God in and through them. 

Even after all of this, I still can't define word for word what it means to "see God" in another person. My guess is you can't either. But we feel it; intuitively our being knows what it means to see God in someone. It's one of those mysterious balances in life. We know what it means, but can't verbalize it. Even if we can't, at least having it stretch our minds and make connections with our lives is a wonderful place to start. Namaste.