Transcendent (Tran*scend"ent) (?), a.
[L. transcendens, -entis, p. pr. of transcendere to transcend: cf. F. transcendant, G. transcendent.]
1. Very excellent; superior or supreme in excellence; surpassing others; as, transcendent worth; transcendent valor. "Clothed with transcendent brightness." Milton.
2. (Kantian Philos.) Transcending, or reaching beyond, the limits of human knowledge; -- applied to affirmations and speculations concerning what lies beyond the reach of the human intellect.
Transcedent. Now there is a word we don’t use very often. Perhaps because transcendent moments by definition generally surpass everyday human experience and understanding.
I’ve been blessed to enjoy a few of them in my life. The birth of any of my three children were all transcendant experiences...all glorious wonders without equal in all of life!
Likewise, strangely enough, I’ve been blessed to be the one holding the hand of a few of God’s children as they passed from this life into the next. A wondrous moment and remarkable honor to be sure.
As a pastor I’ve had the remarkable honor of seeing people hatched, matched and dispatched. All deeply spiritual moments in which God shows up in a transcendent way to bring a new life into the world; to unite two lives in a way that is virtually beyond explanation; and finally to sovereignly allow the human spirit and soul to free itself from the physical shell of the human body to return once again to exist on a 100% spiritual plain of existence.
Transcendent moments in nature can include being in the presence of what we term as natural disasters; hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, tsunami’s, earthquakes as well as amazingly breath takingly beautiful moments; like the first time you drive from Reno and see lake Tahoe from Mount Rose! Or experiencing the majestic splendor of Lake Louise or the exhileration of watching the Salmon run, the swallows return to Capistrano, or the feeling when every ounce of your body vibrates as a lion unleashes his roar.
One of those moments that I recall quite vividly was when I was asked, (actually more like strongly persuaded), by a gentleman at a church in Maui to create a financial seminar and then come to Maui and conduct it for a church of over a thousand people there. I was blessed to be able to share the experience with my entire family.
One of about a dozen experiences that we experienced on Maui at no cost to us was an hour long helicopter trip that will remain forever etched in my mind.
