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Mesa City Church
Mesa City Church Logo
Why is the Raven part of the Mesa City Church logo? The Raven is an important part of who we are as a church and what we believe. Take a moment and read what the raven symbolizes in our logo.
Darkness
There is a tension in the Christian faith with what to do with darkness. God did not expel darkness when he created the universe. In fact, he created all things right in the middle of the darkness. The raven is a bird that represents darkness to so many cultures and mythologies. But as the guide to understanding the Christian faith, what does the Bible say about the raven?
The Bible
Biblical references to the raven
According to the early writers of the Bible, the raven was to be viewed as an 'unclean' bird. This not only meant that they could not eat it, but also that they could not be in contact with the bird. If they were, there would need other be a purification process.
So God created something to be unclean? It must be bad then. right?
Leviticus 11:13-19
Verse 15 lists the raven as an unclean bird.
Genesis 8:6
After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up form the earth.
1 Kings 17:2-6
Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there. . .
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The rains brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
While Old Testament law dictated that a Raven was an unclean bird, God wanted to show something important. He still uses the things that are deemed unclean, to bring hope and wholeness to others.
Noah let the raven fly after a period where destruction covered the earth. The raven flew back and forth until dry ground appeared. The flight of the raven was proof that hope was coming. God was taking something hurtful and broken and offering new life to it.
Likewise, the raven was instructed to bring food to Elisha as he hid in fear of his life. During a time that was painful and scary, God used the raven to sustain life for a man fearfully hiding.
To us, the raven is not only a symbol of hope, but a symbol that God brings hope by reclaiming things that were once deemed unclean or broken. The raven - an unclean bird - was a symbol of life for both Noah and Elisha. Because in the hands of the Father, all things are able to bring forth life.
Mesa City Church is a place of becoming. We believe that in the hands of Jesus our savior, all people are redeemed and filled with life giving purpose. No one is broken, or unclean, beyond the point of redemption in the eyes of our Father. Our prayer is that God would use us to bring life and wholeness to Costa Mesa, Orange County, California, and the rest of the world.
The raven reminds us that thought darkness might persist, God is bringing something beautiful that will create life and wholeness for all people. And like the raven, God will use our brokenness to bring hope to our communities!
THE RAVEN
AND MESA CITY CHURCH
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