Intentions Behind the RESET Collection
A reflection by Madison Kong, Product Design
After spending the last two semesters fully online, YHWH Apparel finally reunited as a team, with some members meeting each other for the first time in person. After a year and a half long pause, Berkeley seemed to transition into “normal” quickly. But as an organization and as a community of Christians, we felt the need to hesitate and reflect on our identity as YHWH Apparel and followers of Christ. Rather than treating our time back in-person as a “resume”, we instead face a restart. We have “RESET”.
Study of RESET
As Christians, we are called to make disciples of all nations. We are commanded to love God our Father first above all and then to love our neighbors. We are supposed to be living testimonies of how God has been faithful. But it can become too easy to be a Christian on Sunday’s and to be of the world Monday through Saturday. But God knows our hearts. To go through the motions of being a Christian without the God-centered heart posture is not glorifying God. I am guilty of this numbness when it comes to serving and spiritual disciplines. I sing “Christ is enough for me” and “The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back” but do I really believe this and live it out? Do I hold the gospel close and want to share it with others because I believe it is the good truth? Is my heart intentionally oriented towards God?
I constantly need to reset and recenter my heart to intentionally and purposefully live and serve and love in a Christ-centered way.
With an emphasis on the importance of foundations, we remind ourselves of our mission statement: “A love made known, a need that was seen, and a call that was heard”. As we study the meaning behind these words and how it comes directly from Scripture, we recenter our purpose as YHWH Apparel and as Christians to be Christ-centered. The core of the gospel is our savior Jesus Christ.
“A love made known”
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them…. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1 John 1:13–16, 21)
“A need that was seen”
“He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15)
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15–16)
“A call that was heard”
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)
“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10)
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:6–9)
As a team consisting of members from different fellowships on campus, we come together to pursue the Lord in the Word and in prayer. It is a blessing to find community in sharing not only our struggles and “thorns” but also our great joys in how God has been and is currently moving throughout our lives. And as we evaluate our foundations as YHWH Apparel, we also check the foundations of our personal relationship with God. Is Jesus Christ the rock of our faith? Do our lives clearly show this truth? How can we serve our neighbors and communities with the right heart posture?
After studying excerpts from Scripture, we share rebuking or encouraging takeaways, direct applications to our lives, and possible symbolism or images inspired by our discussions. In previous years, the product design team would use these sessions to draft numerous designs, gathering feedback and insight from other teams.. However, this particular semester, our whole team had a greater input on the design choices, creating a cohesive process of constant back-and-forth communication. In the end, we were proud to prayerfully present our final product to the public!
The Product
The careful culmination of many iterations, discussions as a whole team, morning coffee chats, and prayer led to our Fall 2021 RESET Hoodie. The design is minimalistic and can seem almost empty in some sense to viewers. But ultimately, the center and focus of our product design — and our lives — is our savior Jesus Christ. It is through Him alone that we are adopted into God’s family so we unashamedly declare this is our primary identity — in “Christ Alone”. The intention behind the design is to emphasize the most important relationship in our lives: our vertical relationship with our Father. The centered, vertical design clearly parallels YHWH Apparel’s heart as a team and our personal relationships with our God. It is a reminder to re-center, re-focus, and re-set our hearts on Christ everyday.
The reason why we decided to incorporate the YHWH Apparel logo, nicknamed “yud”, is because we wanted to reintroduce the meaning behind its design. In Spring 2020, YHWH Apparel rebranded and created this yud logo with clear reasoning. Our Fall 2021 final product also included the yud that conveys the same message. Consisting of the Hebrew yodh and a nail in the upper corner, the yud is not simply a sleek “Y”. It represents the nails that hung Jesus Christ on the cross, the very crucifixion that saved us from sin and restored the relationship between us and God. It proclaims the name “Yahweh”, one of the sacred names of God that is still deemed too worthy to be spoken by some groups today. It points to the gospel and the amazing grace of Christ on the cross.
So even as we wrestle with our sin, battle our selfish selves everyday, forget that God is good all the time, and let the illusion of self-sufficiency take over, God is with us. He is our one constant relationship. The work has been done by Christ on the cross. We can be still and know that Yahweh is God (Psalm 46:10).
Reflection
Each of the members in this team are grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in an unconventional way. It just shows how God uses broken, burnt-out sinners to do His work for His glory. Please stay prayerful for YHWH Apparel, that we would not operate with tainted hearts of underlying personal desires but that we would love our neighbors knowing that Jesus saves. And we pray for those who are struggling, that they would build their life on the foundation and cornerstone of Jesus Christ alone.
The proceeds of this project go towards Casa de las Madres, a domestic violence support and prevention non-profit based in San Francisco.
All glory be to Christ,
YHWH Apparel
