My attention this week was drawn to the symbol and shape named a circle. I stopped to consider what I thought I knew about circles. There are circles everywhere we look. There are circles in the sky and the universe. There are circles in math studies. There are round circular things I use in my home. Last week I felt like I was going in circles. I had a long, very long, to do list and only a short time to get it all done. It seemed that I went from one thing to do to another with no time to take a break. And sometimes I had to leave one thing unfinished to work on another and I ended up circling back around to complete the uncompleted. Circles and circles—sometimes very frustrating circles. A circle is defined as a flat, round, closed shape in which every point on the edge is the same distance from a single, fixed point called the center. But most of us think of a circle as a line that has no beginning and no end. An ant following the line that shapes the circle would follow it forever, never finding the end of his travels. So, while I felt like I was on a never-ending circle of things to do, it did come to an end! Sabbath came and I could get off my circle of things to do. I could rest and leave the circle, unlike the ant. And I could put the to do list away and say thank you God for helping me get most of it accomplished and forget about the rest.
Babies are developed in the circle of a mother’s womb where they grow and develop for many months. And then baby is born. Baby’s circle changes. Now his circle includes himself, his mother and father. His circle includes all he needs. After several days, baby’s circle continues to grow bigger as he begins to learn that his circle is larger, perhaps with siblings, and maybe a cat and/or a dog. And his circle probably has grandparents. Growing even more, babies have aunts and uncles and cousins. Baby has toys that are circular in nature. Baby’s family home circle is joined by an intersecting circle that is his church family. I and everyone else are born in a circle although each one differs greatly in appearance and function. My circle’s earliest form was simple—natural. I was only subconsciously aware of its presence during the first few formative years of my life. But my circle offered me 365 degrees of stability, support, and health. My circle had 4 immediate members plus 2 nearly immediate members that was my entire world. Over the years my circle changed with growth and sometimes loss. I generally loved my version of my circle and the person I was becoming. But the day came when I chose, somewhat unwillingly, to leave my immediate circle and go off to college! My own circle and community that I shared so much of my life with and leaned on and found support seemed to change and somewhat disappear. I was surrounded with unfamiliar faces. I had to enter a new circle and make it mine. I could only move into a new circle by letting God guide and direct my new life circle. But always, Jesus was at the center my circle.
God’s circles are circles in circles in circles. He places me in my family circle and wants them placed in the circle of my church family. This year I watched many of the programs broadcast of this year’s General Conference Session. I could see how great God’s circle really is. It was impressive to say the least. I am so glad that God’s circle continues to grow and expand. To know that I am just one small little part of God’s 23,000,000 circle of people makes me so thankful that God’s family circle will never get too big, no one will ever be excluded.
I first realized the idea of intersecting circles one day in math class when we studied Venn Diagrams. So if you are in your own circle and the center of your existence, then you can place these other people/things within your circle or as more circles that intersect with your circle. You are both part of your own circle but also, for example, a part of your local church family’s circle and your neighborhood circle. We belong in Jesus’s circle. He invites us to join our circle with His. Then He can also be in my circle with me! Within God’s Circle are many many smaller circles—the AWR circle, the 3ABN circle, and other circles like VOP, College Alumni, Amazing Facts, Maranatha, churches, conferences, etc—circles that are big enough for everyone that wants to enter them. How wonderful to know that they all fit into God’s growing expanding CIRCLE! The circle’s continuous path of infinity is a powerful symbol of God’s eternal nature, His endless love, and the unending cycle of life.
The circle is often seen as a symbol of God’s perfection and wholeness, reflecting God’s perfect nature. The circle can represent God’s sovereignty and authority, as He created and holds all things in His hands. My father often said that he would like to have a video to see how Creation happened. When I think about the wonderfulness of what was created, down to the tiniest, tiny atom, and all the marvelous infinite variety of God’s creativeness, I think that perhaps God might have stood there in the garden as Friday the 6th day drew to a close at sunset. And I see Him looking around and then slowly turning in a circle to see it all—everything He and His Son had created for His people! Us! Even though only Adam and Eve got to appreciate it all that first day, God had already planned for me and you and everyone. Just as we like to step back and look at our completed projects, I am positive that God was satisfied with His creation projecdtd and perhaps turned in a circle, seeing that it was Good, Very Good.
Thinking about circles makes me focus on the nature of God being eternal. I can see Him in the center of the continuous, unending shape of a circle, representing His infinite love and promises for us. Circles also highlight the idea symbolizing God’s all-encompassing creation and divine order and harmony. I can meditate on drawing circles of love and responsibility outwards from myself to my family, my community, and also include the world, or consider the concept of a spiritual circle of influence, surrounding myself with relationships that honor God. Jesus drew out circles of love and care from His disciples to spread love out to the whole earth. I think we are called to share love to others, moving from my own inner love circle to the larger circles of my community and the global world community. The idea of a spiritual circle can refer to the people you surround yourself with. I want to try to seek out those who are godly, that will encourage my faith and challenge me to grow. In Ezekiel’s vision, the divine beings were described as having intersecting circles, symbolizing God’s perfect order and heavenly design. Maybe Ezekiel was partially seeing our universe with circles inside of circles.
Jesus’ command/commission was to spread the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. I see this as a series of expanding circles, a call to a broader view of love and mission to others. I was a student in school when I was presented with a problem to solve—How to take a circle and make it bigger so that I could fit myself through it. The answer is very easy if you are able to apply some science to the problem. Make a paper loop circle from a strip of paper about 15 inches long. But before you tape the ends together, turn one end over so that the ring ends up with a half twist. Then, cut the paper band in half lengthwise completely around the circle. When you complete the task, you will have a circle that is double in size from what you started with! A slender, skinny person—not me—could fit through the new circle! Science can give us some fun things to do—google Mobius strip and see even more fun things to try. But all this illustrates to me what we are commissioned to do! We are to take our individual circles and expand them—make them grow and expand to surround the whole world. We need to take the message of Jesus to the whole world so that we are all in God’s circle! If you draw a line on the inside of this new Mobius strip circle and go completely around the circle, and if you keep drawing the line then you will end up in the outside of the circle. Think of God as being the center of this circle made of the paper strip. The inside of the circle is the family circle, but we end up on the outside which is like the community circle that we are part of! God is still in the center and that is where we want Him to be!
There are wonderful ideas about a simple 3-Circles Gospel method that helps explain everything Jesus did for us.
The first circle represents brokenness. We live in a broken world. War, sickness, famine, greed, lust, sin … it all combines to tear us down. Just look at the news on any given night, especially this past week of horrendous shootings and you will get the picture. We are in desperate need of something to rescue us from this brokenness, and we cannot do this on our own.
This was not God’s plan for us. God’s design for the world is the second circle, and it represents perfection. He created a perfect world for us in the Garden of Eden, but man fell short. Sin got in the way. God knew we needed to be rescued from this problem, so out of the goodness of His heart, He sent Jesus to die for us.
Jesus represents that third circle. This is explained perfectly in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus gives us the forgiveness and hope we need to get through this life. It is through Him that we are sent back to God’s perfection.
While the term “prayer circle” isn’t explicitly in the Bible, the practice of praying together is well-supported, with key verses including Matthew 18:20 (“where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”) and James 5:16 (“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”). These verses emphasize the strength we can find in unity and the effectiveness of communal prayer, which aligns with the modern concept of a prayer circle as a gathering for support and shared devotion.
Both Mark and Luke included the same story of Jesus teaching the religious leaders of His day. One of the interesting stories of Jesus is the story of the circle of friends who cared so much for their paralyzed friend and went so far as to tear and dig up the roof of a house in order to get their friend down inside of the circle of people surrounding Jesus.
When Jesus saw THEIR faith, He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” It was not just the faith of the paralyzed man that healed him; it was the faith of his friends. This is why who and what you surround yourself with is so important. Your circle matters!
1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV says, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” Do not let the people you spend time with and the things you are doing poison your life. This concept is also expressed in Proverbs 12:26 NIV, as it says, “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Our circle of friends is important to our salvation. We all need to evaluate our circles. Are you, am I, surrounded by people in our circles who push us upward in our faith? Do they make good decisions? Are they a good influence? The term “circle” can also refer to a person’s immediate social sphere. Biblical wisdom, such as in 1 Corinthians 15:33, advises to choose one’s company carefully, as “bad company corrupts good character”. Jesus showed us the value of circles of influence, from his closest disciples to the crowds, showing intentionality in how He built into the lives of those around Him.
The Bible has lots of references that make me think of circles. Theologically, Bible uses the image of a “circle” in several ways, often to denote the roundness of the Earth (like in Isaiah 40:22) This verse describes God as “sitting enthroned above the circle of the earth”. The Hebrew word (chug) can mean “circle” or “sphere” and is used to refer to the roundness of the Earth and God’s sovereignty over it. The circle idea is in creation’s order and implies divine design and order in the universe, ” When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep ” Proverbs 8:27 NKJV, and also for divine dominion circling us with love. The concept of circle can also symbolize wholeness and perfection in God’s plans, the eternal nature of His reign, and the encompassing nature of His omnipresence. In a less literal way, circles can represent a person’s influence and the impact of their close relationships. In Job 26:10: The “circle” is also used to describe the boundary of the horizon, marking the separation of light and darkness. Sometimes it seems that the circle is symbolic. Circles can symbolize completeness and the eternal nature of God, as well as the perfect design of His creation. The idea of a circle could also represent God’s omnipresence, as He is over, though, and in all things.
Several years ago, I found and then bought a book that had the story of Honi in it. The book was about Prayer and the Legend of Honi. According to Josephus, Honi is a Jewish sage known as “Honi the Circle-Drawer” or “Honi Ha-Me’agel,” famous for drawing a circle in the ground and praying for rain during a severe drought until his prayer was answered. He is not mentioned in the Old or New Testament but is a prominent figure in Jewish oral tradition, particularly in the Mishnah and Talmud, where stories about his piety and miracles are recorded. His legendary prayer for rain is a testament to his deep faith and his confident relationship with God. Honi was a righteous Jewish man who lived in the first century BC. He was renowned for his deep piety and his ability to perform miraculous acts, especially bringing rain through his prayers. His most famous story tells of a time of severe drought in Israel. When the people’s prayers for rain went unanswered, Honi drew a circle around himself in the sand, stood inside it, and vowed not to move until God sent rain to His people.
Honi declared, “Lord of the world, I know you have the power to bring rain, and I know your will is provision. Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that fills cisterns, pits, and caverns”. His prayers were answered, first with a gentle shower, then with a powerful downpour, and finally with a peaceful, gracious rain, according to the stories.
He is not a character in the Bible. His story does serve as a valuable lesson in Jewish tradition about faith, community, and the power of prayer.
Today, this week, this month horrible current events have occurred. And we remembered the 24th anniversary of 9-11. These are just signs that Satan is still ruling this earth and he is trying to grow his circle. The bad news for him is that God’s circle will continue to grow despite all the bad Satan can accomplish. For me, that is the best thing, the very best news.
God wants me in His circle, and He will always want me there!