Logo and Motto

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

Psalm 119 is frequently described as the Psalm of the Word of God, for in nearly every verse of this psalm one finds a reference to the Word of God. Among other words, in this psalm the psalmist uses words such as “word,” “promise,” “testimony,” “command,” “statutes,” “precepts,” “way,” “decrees,” and “law,” to describe the Word of God. In each instance it is evident that the psalmist loves and researches the Word of God, that he counts on the Word of God, and that the Word of God strengthens and guides him.

Verse 105 surely belongs to the wider known verses of this psalm. For me, the story with this verse already began when I was still a teenager. When I was baptized, my local congregation chose this verse for me as a reminder of my further way with the LORD. During my subsequent theological studies I got to know and love the Word of God better.

At that time, I began to search for a Bible verse which I could use as my personal motto and the motto of my vocation and life. This was not an easy task, given the great multitude of good and fitting verses, so that I set up a few criteria. It should be a verse from the Old Testament, as I have concentrated my studies on the Old Testament. It should be a meaningful verse, which I could use for my life, my vocation, and my occupation for a rather long period of time, that is, a verse, that expresses in a convincing and significant way my Christian and theological convictions. Finally, it should be a verse, which I could pass on to other Christians and theologians as a testimony and as a description of my theological standpoint.

Having searched for such a verse, which matches these criteria, for some years, I remembered Psalm 119:105 again. This verse is concise and from the Old Testament. It describes in an excellent way that my life and occupation are based on the grounds of the Word of God. In addition, this verse is short enough (in the original language, it consists of four words only) to be passed out in writing or in speech.

Yet Psalm 119:105 even points further. In the New Testament Jesus Christ meets us as the living Word of God, and today millions of people put their trust in the incarnated Word of God, follow Him and observe the Bible as the written Word of God. On the other hand, many people are still seeking the true light for their way of life. With that observation, this verse becomes an obligation for my service. The Word of God, that is a light on my way of life up to the heavenly father, shall also become the light on the way of life of the many people, who are still searching for the right way in the darkness.

This I regard as my vocation and occupation: To get closer to this described goal through the application of my gifts, that is, by instructing those people, who can be entrusted with a solid education that puts Jesus Christ and the Word of God in its center, and who are qualified to teach others (2 Tim 2:2), so that the Word of God may be advanced in this world.

This conviction is also expressed in my logo. It shows an open Bible with the Hebrew title of the Old Testament (“Law, Prophets, and Writings”) on the left hand side and the Greek title of the New Testament ("Book") on the right hand side. In the center of the Bible, shining through it, embracing both parts and at the same time separating and connecting them, the Cross indicates the life and work of Jesus Christ, that is foreshadowed in the Old Testament, which may indeed be understood on its own, and described and applied in the New Testament, which often bases itself on the Old Testament.

Finally, the Bible verse from Psalm 119:105 points to the entire Word of God—Old and New Testament, written and incarnated—as the basis for my life and service and as the authorization and content of my teaching and preaching.