In the Introduction, “In order to understand the symbol, one must accept the Love of Christ.” Upon reading this passage for the first time, I felt a sense of unease. “The Christ” is a difficult symbol for me then, but the word “love” is even harder for me to grasp. The Chinese character 愛 has evolved from the composition of two characters to a later-added bottom part. “Top character” means “open mouth after a very satisfactory meal” or “yawn,” implying “complete, to the limit,” and “heart” means “dedicated.” These two top parts mean “ultimate benevolence of the heart.” The translation of love in Chinese seems to be an arbitrary adoption of this character to mean love. I can use this Chinese word, which now means “love,” to remember the heart energy to dedicate every movement in life to walking with the Holy Spirit, as in NTI 1 Corinthians: “My servant is one who walks with Me.” 

I wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity to dedicate my heart energy as we gently walk together with the teachings of the Holy Spirit during these study and contemplation sessions with the group.