An Illustration of Purpose... Or Maybe They Just Look Cool.

Japanese arrowheads have always fascinated me. Why? Because in Feudal Japan, arrowheads were as diverse as the number of enemies that one might fight. Some arrows were used against opponents in enemy armies who wore "scale armor". Some were used against Ashigaru footsoldiers who might not have any armor. Some were "artillery" arrows designed to rain down from above "mortar style" against an assaulting enemy horde. Whatever the opponent, the Japanese believed that the arrow used against them needed to be as unique as the opponent himself.

To me, that says a lot about "purpose". To the Japanese, each arrow was not only a combat implement, but was a combat implement designed for a specific opponent or type of opponent in a specific type of scenario. I think that each of us wants to believe that the same is true of "our purpose". We don't want to just believe that we are "any old arrow" where "any old arrow will do". We want to believe that we are in the hands of a God who fires us with purpose and destiny because we have been specially crafted for that destiny.

I'm still not sure whether that view of God or purpose is accurate... but the arrows sure are cool.
Arrowheads