HAPPY YEAR OF RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Word Pictures :)

12/31/2012

Thought this was interesting…

This is the modern Chinese character for “happiness” or “blessing” or “good fortune”.

This ancient Chinese form of the same character is made up of the symbols for “God” plus the symbol for “worship” (represented by two hands lifting a jar of wine). So Happiness equals relationship with God…in worship [and lifting up [new] wine]!

In the modern form of the word the “worship” part is replaced with the symbols for “mouth” and “field”. So happiness in the modern Chinese language equals receiving food and land.

Chinese people often post the character “fu” on their door frames…hoping to bring happiness to their homes. In their wishful thinking, they also turn the character “fu” upside down because the Chinese word for “arrived” sounds like “upside down” and it’s a play on words: “blessing has arrived”. But the author Chan Kei Thong explains: “this symbolic topsy-turvy understanding of blessing actually is very revealing of how the concept of blessing has become distorted.”

Seems like the original meaning was a better picture of TRUE HAPPINESS! Happiness equals relationship with God…in worship [and lifting up [new] wine]!

Kind of a fun thought for “Happy New Year”. :)

—s galloway