“A picture is worth a thousand words.” This saying captures something we don’t always realize in everyday life: We often speak in images. Images, symbols, and stories explain values and realities without using many words. Language can do that. We can—and do—it every day. The Bible is full of them.
Using Visual Language
Visual language conveys meaning without many words. We can make use of that. We’ll get to that in a moment. First, however, we need to recognize just how much we ourselves rely on images. This allows us to talk about ourselves and about how an experience affects us. Last week’s experience might have been “heavenly” or “awful.” That’s one way to describe opposite experiences. It’s simple, memorable, and clear. Whether positive or negative, imagery gets right to the heart of what caught our attention.
When we differentiate, we no longer focus solely on ourselves, but also look beyond ourselves. We can look outward in ever-widening circles. Then, for example, our relationships and our work come into play. These are vital parts of our lives. They shape us, and we shape them. There is a mutual interaction.
If we expand these circles even further, we can speak of living spaces and spaces of faith. These “spaces” are merely figurative language for the contexts in which we live or could live. It is all about context. One might think, for example, of the village or city where one lives, the church one attends, or the community of which one is a part.
Visual imagery can be used to describe these connections. Visual imagery allows us to reflect on the situation we find ourselves in or to discuss what qualities a future context would need to have.
The environment in which we live
The habitats or spaces of faith mentioned above could also be described as the biotopes in which we live. Ideally, they are the environments in which our lives unfold in a positive way. Images like these help me. They create some distance and simplify the complexity of our reality. Figurative language allows for a more neutral, yet concrete, examination of the subject.
The terms “living space” or “space of faith” help us imagine our own lives or our own faith as part of a larger space. It’s not just about my life or my faith, but also about the context in which we live.
Every religious community is a unique ecosystem. Different churches or communities have chosen one form or another and have continued to develop their own ecosystem. The image of a biotope is quite striking because it allows us to reflect on our own culture. Is it truly a healthy biotope? Or, to use a figurative comparison: Is there enough oxygen in this pond to sustain life?
The point isn’t to reduce a religious community to a fish pond, but to determine whether the habitat is suitable for its inhabitants (or: for me).
A Place to Live and a Place of Faith
Talking about a “living space” or a “space of faith” is a form of figurative language. By using figurative language, one can often gain some perspective, and impressions can be described more clearly.
Here are a few questions:
- Do words like “living space” or “space of faith” mean anything to you? Why (or why not)?
- Is a living space the same as a spiritual space? What do you think?
- Why is a habitat (biotope) important?
- Why would a space for faith (biotope) be important?
- Do I know of other spaces, communities, or situations? Which ones? What was good about them?
- If I were to describe, in neutral terms, what kind of habitat I’m looking for, what would that look like? Describe it.
If you ask these questions in a group, you’ll find that everyone has a different perspective. These different impressions can be discussed. What insights does this provide?
Other visual languages
It doesn’t always have to be a living space. We can also use other images to illustrate a community or our own path. Here are a few examples of ways to reflect on yourself and the community:
Personal
- Write your own obituary. What was important to you?
- Imagine you’re a fish in a pond. How are you doing there? Is there anything missing?
Fellowship
- You’re part of a tour group. How do you travel? What’s your role?
- Where are we headed? Was that your choice? Is there anything missing?
Living and acting in harmony
A biotope refers to life and growth in a single place. From my personal perspective, I see my life and my faith as existing within a single space. I do not separate the two. In my understanding, life is sacred, and faith is part of that. I want to live and act in a way that is consistent with that understanding.
My experience was often different. Life and faith frequently did not align. The community was often not in harmony with life, but merely tried to dictate that harmony from above. One was supposed to believe this or that, and that was supposed to be the truth and reality. It is, at its core, an ideological approach. The claim to absolute truth blocks the path to a living faith. For this reason, I could not always see certain requirements and views as viable.
The claim to absolute truth blocks the path to a living faith.
It became important to strive for congruence. What good is a faith that can’t contribute anything to my lived experience? I need a space to live in, and likewise a space to believe in. Ideally, I imagine these spaces as overlapping.
If God loves this world (John 3:16), then God does not love only the believers in a particular community (biotope), but He loves the world, including all the communities (biotopes) within it. This love is enduring and all-encompassing. This is congruence. Likewise, I want to maintain this congruence by consciously choosing my own perspective and identity, but also by loving the world as God loves it.
Personal Responsibility and Growth
Life and faith do not flourish in stagnation, but in growth. Those who live grow. Maturing—in life as in faith—is a natural and necessary process. For a young person to mature, they must one day strike out on their own. They leave their parents’ home—perhaps even their parents’ neighborhood—and begin to take responsibility for their own actions and well-being.
Taking responsibility is important in life as well as in faith. Gaining independence should be the norm. Being allowed to think differently from those around you is something of a minimum requirement for any healthy community. In my experience, this minimum requirement is lacking in many communities. It’s certainly possible to delve deeper into the community’s beliefs. Things become problematic, however, when one begins to think differently. Yet that is where personal responsibility begins—the kind that drives one’s own growth.
Description of a Habitat
It matters what we believe and how we live. Here are a few questions to help you visualize this. Imagine a common room as a symbol of a faith community.
- Describe a place where you feel comfortable.
- How much space do you need in this room, and why?
- Are there doors and windows, and are they open?
- Is there a roof, and if so, how high is the room?
- Can I go out and come back in?
- Should people be allowed into this room?
- Should conversations and debates take place in this room? What should that feel like?
- What colors are the walls in this room?
- Is it a permanent structure or a temporary dwelling?
- What can you see through the windows and doors when you look outside?
- Is it okay to talk to people who are walking by?
- Can people walk through the room for a quick visit?
- What else do you need to know about these questions?
The moment you view your familiar surroundings as a biotope, you can see whether it fosters your life or your spiritual life. In which biotope would you like to live?