It's strange, but I've had a couple of people initiate conversation me in the last month -- pretty much out of the blue -- to talk about the meaning of my last name.  "Hey, I just learned what your last name means," the conversation goes.  "Do you know what your last name means?" I have a few ideas of what my last name means, but having had this conversation numerous times throughout the course of my life, I tell them that it depends.

According to Wikipedia, the word "Asp is the modern Anglicization of the word aspis, which in antiquity referred to any one of several venomous snake species found in the Nile region.  It is believed that the aspis referred to in Egyptian mythology is the modern Egyptian cobra."  This is what most people are getting at, when they say that they've discovered the "secret" meaning of my last name.  An Asp is a kind of snake.  "Which means I better watch out for you!  Har, har, har..." is the standard follow-up joke.  The deadly snake -- perhaps most famous for being the instrument of Queen Cleopatra's suicide -- has also given rise to modern usages of the name "Asp" for (among other things) a type of hand-gun and for the name of (the little orphan) Annie's Chinese chauffeur / body-guard.

As far as I've figured out, however, my last name is actually more closely linked to the Aspen tree than to the Aspis snake.  At least when it comes to Swedish and Norwegian names (there's some confusion about which side of the Scandinavian peninsula our ancestors -- and indeed all people with the surname Asp -- came from), the surname Asp generally indicates "dweller by the aspen trees."  It's a name derived from geography -- from a landmark.  And since this is a lot more peaceful and pleasant and benign than the idea of being named after a deadly snake, this is usually the definition that I typically embrace.

It really goes further than etymology, though, doesn't it?  Ultimately, the public perception of any given name comes down to random word association.  And that's where I've been saddled with a name that sounds unfortunately similar to the English word "ass."  Yes, there are other near-homonyms as well -- "ask" and "as," for instance.  But those sound-alikes are not nearly as fun for experimentation among school-aged children.  Thus through the years, I've picked up a lot of creative permutations of the name Asp, including (but by no means limited to) the following:

• Kick-Asp
• Kiss-Asp
• Jack-Asp
• Dumb-Asp
• Pain-in-the-Asp
• Asp-hole
• Smart Asp
• Hairy Asp
• Rudy-poo candy-Asp (i.e. an adjective, describing anything exceptionally wimpy)
• Big-Asp (i.e. an adjective describing anything exceptionally large)

One of the classic jokes along these lines goes with the naming of children, given the fact that Harry, Jack, and Candy are occasionally used as personal names (and how cruel it would be for me, as a parent, to give one of these names to a child born into our family name!).  But suffice to say:  I've heard these variations on my last name for so long that it's even gotten to the point where I can genuinely appreciate it if anyone comes up with a new one!  It's a whole lot more fun to play along and make light of the situation than it is to become hurt or offended anytime someone pulls one of these word associations out.  So I'm curious:  can any of you think of any other good ones?  I'll give bonus points to anyone who comes up with something original...

And in the meantime, I'll just go on with being an Asp.

I had a great birthday celebration (my 33rd) this past weekend -- seriously, one of the best birthday observances that I've experienced in years...  But it all got me to thinking about some deeper stuff, too.

My 16th birthday was my Driver's License Birthday.  My 18th birthday was my Voting Eligibility Birthday.  My 21st birthday was my Legal Drink Birthday.  My 25th birthday was my Quarter-Century Birthday.  My 30th birthday was my Gateway to Middle Age Birthday.  But my most immediate association with the age of 33 is the Crucifixion of Jesus (who was, as far as we can tell, 33 years old at the time of his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection).  So I guess you could say that I just celebrated my Crucifixion of Jesus Birthday.

It's kind of an odd association, I realize.  But there is something powerful in the realization that this is what Jesus might have felt like -- what his body might have felt like, the thickness of his beard, the beginnings of ache in his joints, the slowing metabolism... and how his mind might have processed the events around him, the compiled power of memory, his sense of mortality, his ability to see humor in circumstances that might have previously frustrated or scared him, his perception of those older than him and younger than him -- in that last year of ministry, leading up to the climax of his ministry.  Maybe these thoughts seem a little bit morbid, but it somehow helps me to connect with the Passion of Jesus in a different way, during this season of Lent and preparing for Easter.

He was so young (at least from my way of looking at things!)!  There was so much of the world that he never got the chance to experience.  And yet, he made such a profound impact on the world with his 33 years.  Yes, of course, it helped that he was the Son of God and everything -- but still, he was absolutely human at the same time, and by the age of 33 Jesus had changed the course of human history.  It's amazing and humbling to consider.  And although I hope that I will not have to face  a crucifixion in the coming year, I do hope that I can follow Jesus more and more, every day.

So how do we identify and follow the spiritual inukshuks in our lives?  How do we live by faith?  The most basic answer comes down to following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who serves as our power for day-to-day living and spiritual interaction with God (and with other believers) and our means for obtaining spiritual wisdom.  1 Corinthians 2:9-16 explains this for us more fully:

It is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” -- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.

So really, finding the inukshuks in life and determining God’s direction all comes down to having this “mind of Christ” (the Holy Spirit).  It's not a formula or a mathematical equation; it’s a spiritual thing.  The Holy Spirit is the ultimate trump card.  His leadership is most important!  But with that said... there do seem to be a handful of principles that we can observe in the Bible and from real-world experience for identifying the spiritual inukshuks around us and making Spirit-filled decisions.  In particular, I believe there are five main checkpoints that we can use to help determine the inukshuks in our lives and find the path being marked out by these inukshuks: (1) God's Word, the Bible, (2) Prayer, (3) Godly Counsel from Other People, (4) Circumstances, and (5) the Test of Time.

With actual inukshuks in the Canadian wilderness, Inuit hunters don’t just look at them and see a random pile of stones.  They know how to study the rock formation like a map and read it for specific clues as to which direction they must go.  In the same way, we can study the Bible to give us direction (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:97-99, 138, and John 14:21).  Secondly, real inukshuks are discovered through searching for them and consistently scanning one’s eyes across the flat, arctic horizon in hopes of spotting the next marker on the trail home.  An Inuit hunter knows that he won’t see anything if he’s not looking for it.  In the same way, prayer gives us spiritual eyes to see what’s in front of us (see Proverbs 2:3-6, Colossians 1:9-10, and James 1:5).  Thirdly, it's important to remember that an inukshuk is not just an arbitrary pile of stones on the tundra.  There may be quite a bit of variety in the way one inukshuk might look from the next, but there is an element of consistency as well -- stemming from the fact that they are a part of the Inuit culture, and people who are from that culture know what separates an inukshuk from just a bunch of rocks.  In the same way, our involvement in Christian community helps us in determining the direction God wants to take our lives (see Proverbs 12:15 and Proverbs 11:14).  Fourthly, it's significant to note that for the Inuit people, an inukshuk’s environment, placement, and circumstances are important in determining the inukshuk’s meaning and significance.  A pile of rocks in the middle of the wilderness means a whole lot more than a pile of rocks in the village.  Likewise, God can use circumstances in our lives to help prevent us from going wrong directions and steer us in the right direction for the future (see Acts 16:6-7 and Matthew 10:11-14).  And finally, it's important to realize that one inukshuk is not enough to guide an Inuit hunter on the entire path that he needs to follow.  Rather, it is the collective alignment of several inukshuks that mark the path, and the only way to know that you’re truly on the right path is to be patient and make sure that they consistently line up, pointing in the same direction.  I feel it’s the same way with spiritual inukshuks (see Psalm 27:13-14, Isaiah 30:18, and Proverbs 14:29).

In summary, I believe the better we can get at discerning these spiritual inukshuks and applying the principles outlined here above, the better we will be able to determine the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives —- allowing us to make wise, Spirit-filled decisions.  At times, it will seem like the journey is incredibly long, with the inukshuks placed impossibly far apart.  But if we can keep moving forward in faith, staying true to the direction of the last inukshuk that we passed, we will reach our destination in God's time, and according to God's plan.

My story of the Inuit hunter is actually a story about my own spiritual journey.  Yes, I did some research and tried to create a true representation of Inuit culture, in northern Canada -- but I also think it holds tremendous meaning for individuals living here in Amsterdam in the 21st Century.  Perhaps different metaphors work better for different people, yet I feel like my own spiritual journey works a lot like a path marked out by inukshuks:  traveling through an unmarked spiritual landscape with just a vague sense of direction.  It really is a journey of faith towards an uncertain goal, and the only way that we're able to keep moving forward is through the guidance provided by the inukshuks in life -- those moments of spiritual clarity, scattered every so often, that remind us of our direction and goal.

We all have those moments in our lives, if we look hard enough.  Sometimes, they're referred to as moments of epiphany or revelation.  I’ve also heard them referred to as “spiritual mile markers.”  But for me, I like to think of them as “inukshuks.”  They don't come along very often on the generally flat, unmarked spiritual landscape of our lives.  But when we find one, we can immediately observe evidence of obvious design and purpose, comforting and reassuring reminders that we are not the only ones to have walked a particular path.  With these spiritual inukshuks, just like Inuit inukshuks, there is a great variety of design -- but their significance is unmistakable.  They're placed just every so often, barely enough to remind us that we are indeed on a designated trail.

And if we learn to look for the inukshuks that God has put in our lives, we can more effectively live with radical faith and trust in the directions that God takes us.

Everyone has big decisions that they have to make at some point or another in his or her life.  "Which university should I go to?" "Which job should I take?"  "When and how and to whom should I be married?" "What does the future hold for my life?"  These questions crop up whenever we find ourselves changing jobs, moving cities, or whatever.  They're all very difficult questions which don’t have very clear-cut answers.  But if we believe that God helps to guide us and protect us -- providing these spiritual inukshuks to mark out the right path to God’s will for our lives -- how do we really know what we’re looking for?  How do we figure these things out for ourselves and help to provide counsel for other people around us who are going through the process of making difficult decisions?

I strongly believe that the spiritual inukshuks are there, if only we'll look for them.  We just have to learn where to look and how to interpret them. Stay tuned for more ideas...

I remember getting all giddy and excited the first time that I saw the logo for the Vancouver Olympics (several months ago, before the current Winter Olympics ever got started).  It's silly, of course, to allow such emotion to be attached to a marketing device.  But the reason that I got excited about it was because I recognized the image right away as an inukshuk:  a Native American trail marker, which has become a powerful spiritual metaphor for my life through the years.

I initially learned about inukshuks at a gallery in downtown Chicago, in the late 1990s.  I was immediately fascinated by both their natural aesthetic beauty and the story behind their design.  A few years later, when Marci and I were first considering the possibility of moving to Amsterdam, the inukshuk came back to me as a powerful metaphor for following God's direction for our lives -- ultimately providing some of the faith and confidence that I needed to make a trans-Atlantic move.  And ever since then, the inukshuk has inspired me and encouraged me.  I've written rather extensively about inukshuks through the years -- in my journals and in sermons delivered on both sides of the Atlantic -- but it's just occurred to me, with this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, that I've never actually blogged about inukshuks.  So I thought that I might put together a mini-series on inukshuks as a spiritual metaphor.

For today, I thought I'd share a short story featuring inukshuks that I wrote back in 2002...

*     *     *     *     *

It’s been a long hunt.  He began over a week ago, following the trail of the caribou herds northwest towards the Arctic Ocean.  And after a disappointing week of tracking and hunting, he is on his way home.  Unfortunately, the village is still a long ways off -- he estimates perhaps another full day’s journey.  His supplies are running low, and he is hungry because he has been rationing his food supply for the past day and half -- ever since it became clear that he would not be returning with fresh meat.  He is tired and alone.  And he is starting to worry that he’s lost.

The surrounding landscape offers little reassurance.  For miles and miles in every direction, the flat arctic tundra spreads out like a cold gray blanket.  Broad fields of stone and ice, moss and lichen -- there is very little to look at, and even less to mark the way home.  The hunter has a vague sense that he is traveling in the right direction, but nagging doubts persist and it is difficult to be certain in regards to his heading.  He looks behind him, in hopes of finding reassurance that he is going the right way -- but he can find none of the landmarks that have guided him to this point; they are all far behind him, blended into the flat desolate wasteland.  He can do nothing but press ahead in the direction that he thinks to be the proper path.  Straining his eyes toward the southeast horizon, he walks onward… continuing by faith and instinct...

And then he sees it.  It is still a long ways off -- its form difficult to make out over such a great distance, but unmistakable nonetheless.  He is encouraged to see it, and his step quickens in the direction of the distant shape.  As he approaches, he’s able to see more clearly and there’s no mistaking the fact that he has found the next inukshuk.

Walking up to the structure, the hunter smiles and then stops to sit on his pack for a moment and gaze upon the inukshuk in front of him.  It is simply a pile of stones, loosely arranged in the shape of a human figure, rising from the desolate landscape.  It is plain and basic, but its design is unmistakable -- obviously erected by hunters before him, standing solid and keeping vigil to direct the lonely traveler on his way back to the village.  It is called an inukshuk -- meaning “image of a man’s spirit.”  His people, the Inuit, have used inukshuks for many generations to mark the best and safest passages through the wilderness.  Their individual forms are unique -- varying according to the available materials -- but in every case, they are of distinctly human design, never to be mistaken for a natural rock formation...

By studying the placement and design of the inukshuk, reading the orientation of the stones as if they were a map, the hunter is able to once again determine that he is, in fact, on the right trail.

He must still travel a great distance before he will reach his village, but it is good to be reassured of the direction that he is going.  Chewing a small portion of dried meat, he stands up and shoulders his pack again.  It will be getting dark soon, and he still has a lot of ground to cover if he wants to make it home by tomorrow night.

Placing his hand on the cold stone “shoulder” of the inukshuk, as if to say good-bye, he turns away and begins to trudge onward in the direction of his village, faithfully plodding along the vague path that was marked out for him by the inukshuk -- waiting and trusting for the next inukshuk to guide him yet another step closer to home.

*     *     *     *     *

In my next post, I'll explain more of why the inukshuk has taken on such spiritual significance for me and what it teaches me about the life of faith.  So stay tuned...