While working on Scarlett's Odyssey, I found myself wandering down one of those research trails that begins quietly and then refuses to be forgotten. One small question leads to another, and before long you are somewhere unexpected.
During that search, I came across the traditional Chinese character for righteousness: 義, pronounced yì.
What caught my attention was not only its meaning, but the way the character is formed. It combines the symbol for lamb above the symbol for me.
I paused for a moment and simply looked at it.
A lamb above me.
Some would quickly explain that this developed naturally within the Chinese language, and that may well be so. Ancient characters often carry layers of meaning shaped over centuries.
Yet even with that understanding, the image remains striking. In many ancient cultures, the lamb was associated with sacrifice, innocence, and what is fitting before God. Those themes are also deeply woven through Scripture.
We know the ancient world was more connected than many once assumed. Trade routes stretched across continents. Ideas traveled with merchants, travelers, and settlers. Jewish communities lived far beyond Judea, and the message of Christ moved steadily eastward in the centuries that followed.
Whether by providence, coincidence, or the quiet echoes of truths known long ago, I cannot say with certainty.
But I know this image lingers:
The lamb above. The person beneath. Covered.
That is what grace looks like.
The Lamb above me.
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