the Word as Blueprint
Just before Christmas our adult Sunday School class was discussing the Gospel of John. The discussion leader mentioned something that’s been on my mind ever since.
His example, from the beginning of the Gospel:
The Deity of Jesus Christ (John 1 verse 1-5)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Now, get this:
- The Latin derivative for “word” is “log” or “logue” as in “dialogue”.
- “Word” may very well not have been the most appropriate or accurate English translation in this case.
bait & switch
So, just for giggles, let’s take every instance of “Word” in the first five verses of the Gospel, and replace each with “Blueprint”:
In the beginning was the Blueprint, and the Blueprint was with God, and the Blueprint was God. …
… And then replace references to He and Him with the same word (after all, isn’t the Word also Christ?).
The Blueprint was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through the Blueprint, and apart from the Blueprint nothing came into being that has come into being. In the Blueprint was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Does that put a completely different spin on creation, or what?
Instead of words — like invisible, pre-Commandment engraved stone tablets — before anything existed there was a plan. A Blueprint. That makes so much more sense to my analytical mind struggling to wrap itself around creation and our purpose for existence.
(Well, to be honest I’m still pretty fuzzy on the whole purpose part, but I’ll keep poking at that on my own time.)
When I visualize a blueprint, I see a long roll of blue paper tucked into a carrying case and clutched protectively under the Architect’s arm. The paper has been studied tirelessly under bright lights. Rulers and calculators have slid across it, formulas have been confirmed and checked dozens of times for accuracy, and permanent measurements criss-cross the surface. It is a work of art in itself. The intricate lines and circles, the precise measurements recorded in a careful hand… the sheer amount of planning that goes into a project before breaking ground never ceases to amaze me.
The project is complete before it even begins.
We are God’s plan. He is the Architect, and our world — of which we are an integral part — is his Masterpiece.
Masterpiece implies perfection, I s’pose. Perhaps prototype would be a better descriptive. But then, of course, that indicates a temporariness that most of us shudder at.
How do you understand God or a Divine presence, so that it could fit into this context for you?