Namaste

I have a friend and former coworker from India. She recently wrote a blog entry about the real meaning of "Namaste." If you've ever done yoga, you've probably heard of this pose or had the instructor say it to you on your way out. I just started yoga as part of the P90X program, but I didn't know what it meant. It means, "In you I see the divine."

As a non-Christian, my friend embraced this concept, that there's something divine in all of us, from a child's smile to a stranger's tears to our dreams about our destiny. I got to thinking about whether I can agree with this as a Christian.

On the one hand, I'm not divine. I'm a sinner. I'm not worthy of worship, nor am I perfect. The definition of divine I usually go with is being God-like or proceeding directly from God and being holy and pure. That definition doesn't really describe any of us, does it?

And yet, the Bible says God created us in His image. We have our emotions, inherent sense of justice, ability to love (even though ours is impure), and free will from Him. Moreover, 1 Peter 1:16 commands us, "Be you holy, as I am holy." We're supposed to become more Christlike as we draw closer to God, not in any sense that we become worthier of worship, but that we become examples to others of God's love for them. When people see us, they see the change Jesus has worked through us.

In my friend's blog, this divinity was based on who the person was and not the Creator. Should we not be trying, though, to make that a true statement when people look at us, "In you I see the Divine"? In you, I see the love of God. In you, I see an example of what God wants people to be. Namaste.