Give God the Hammer

LR Midterm (Revised)

Laura Anderson

I don’t have the energy right now to think of a good introduction.

Yes, remarkably ambiguous reader of mine, I know what you’re thinking. What a cop-out! What a pretentious way to start an essay! Well, maybe you weren’t thinking that; I really shouldn’t claim to know what you think. But in the case that those were something of your thoughts, I would like to say, in my defense, that inventing some sort of engaging first part here would only be in an effort to hoodwink you into reading the rest of my essay. But instead, as generous as I am feeling, I am giving you the opportunity to turn back, to save yourself and to go off and make money or drink tea or read the latest Danielle Steel or do whatever it is that ambiguous readers like you like to do. So here it is, the point of no return; stay or go as you will. (Picture left: Discussing the latest Danielle Steel. Photo by Zane Martindale.)

If you are still reading this, I shall assume that you have decided to stay (or are forced to read the rest by some will beyond your own). In either case, I am delighted. You see, this essay is about an issue that concerns me greatly, and a vision on which I am very much sold. I am speaking of a few things which I suppose could be summarized in a few words (and must be, because a few words is all I have time for at the moment): firstly, the dissolution of the Christian church into various sects (to which I am opposed); and secondly (to which I am also opposed), the death or failure to emerge of the Christian presence as it was intended to function on this campus. Each of these problems feeds and is fed by the other, and is a problem which is too extensive for me or anyone else to solve.

It seems to me that there is something seriously wrong with the church. For one thing, it’s divided, which it shouldn’t be. Differences in values and interpretation have split it into sects, many of which vary on relatively trivial details but several of which disagree on major points of doctrine. Nondenominational churches have become their own denomination, and many people have become so attached to their particular group that they have begun thinking as though God judges by denomination and not by individual. I believe that God works even through this situation, but it is not his will that we should be divided. David says in Psalm 133, verse 1 (NIV), “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Paul says to the believers in Ephesus, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:3-6, NIV). To the Corinthians, he says, “Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ ‘I follow Apollos,’ ‘I follow Cephas,’ and, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Cor 1:10-13, WEB). (Picture leftt: The lost children feeling lost.)

This problem has no easy answer. The different denominations are so well-established now that it seems impossible that they could ever reach an agreement, much less one that submits to what God wants rather than human ideas. However, God does impossible things all the time, and so there is definitely hope. Just before he is arrested, Jesus says this prayer: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Jn 17:20b-21, 23, NIV). These are powerful words coming from a man preparing to die, and I am doubtful that any prayer uttered by Jesus would fail to come true. If God answers this prayer, as I believe he must, then the church must be unified one day.

So far I have used the word “church” in two senses. The first is the establishment. This takes names of members, has a building, maybe a specific structure of worship, and rules regarding priests or pastors or preachers or whatever the establishment chooses to call them. The second refers to the body of believers in Christ, wherever they may be. I would venture to say that there is an abundance of unbelievers in the first of these definitions. (I have met several people who claim a certain religion because they were raised that way, but do not believe in it themselves, or who attend church for some reason other than belief.) The second, however, is a bit more abstract, and includes all and only the people who believe. These people make up Christ’s body, all of his workers here on earth. It is this church that needs to be unified more than the establishment.

If you were paying attention earlier you no doubt noticed that I mentioned two problems that I thought needed to be dealt with. Thus far I have only spoken in depth about the first problem I mentioned; that is, factions in the church. The second, “the death or failure to emerge of the Christian presence as it was intended to function on this campus,” also needs to be addressed. So here goes.

It seems that the church of God has forgotten that Christ is to return. Everyone smiles and agrees when we say that we should love each other. Many will say they agree that we should not sin. But few will live as though they believe this, submitting their wills to God and not to their own ideas or to the modern trend. Jesus teaches that we are to “[b]e dressed ready for service and keep [our] lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet” (Lk 12:35-36a, NIV). What are we doing? When did we become so comfortable? When did we stop preparing, stop running toward the goal, and start living as though this sort of life would go on forever? “The Lord answered, ‘Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, “My master is taking a long time in coming,” and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers” (Lk 12:42-46, NIV).

I think that, while Jesus was referring to the second coming, these verses could also be approached in another context. A few weeks ago, a guy at my church, Tony, sat down next to me and told me that during Spring Break the Holy Spirit had come down on fifteen people praying together and told them that there was going to be a revival at UT. Now, you can’t always be certain of what other people tell you God told them, and I am something of a skeptic (of which I am not particularly proud, as the definition for me often comes remarkably close to “ye of little faith”), but I think that he can be trusted, because I don’t think that God would allow someone who seeks him so constantly to be deceived about the Holy Spirit. I know that God can and does speak to people through the Holy Spirit, and God bringing a revival to UT doesn’t sound as far-fetched as, say, God raising Jesus from the dead. So if those fifteen people were not delusional, then there will be a revival at UT (though that’s not to say when, as someone tells me that there has been a group of people waiting for a revival longer than I’ve been alive).

So anyway, back to what I was saying. The verses in Luke where Jesus talks about being ready for the master’s return can also, I think, be applied in another context. As we wait for God to work, specifically at UT, we should ready ourselves for it, at the same time watching to see where he is working. We should desire to be servants that do the will of God and make ourselves people ready for God’s use. We should constantly strive to do what God has commanded us to do by loving each other in perfect unity, encouraging each other, loving unbelievers, and putting aside our rebellious ways. I include myself in this; recently it struck me, in sort of an epiphany, how different my values would be if I knew that Christ would return next week. The little sins that I hold onto as though they don’t matter or don’t count would be dropped in an instant, and a host of other things I currently value would suddenly cease to matter. But this is the state we’re supposed to live in all the time, not just at the end. We should always be ready, should always be striving to please God. And if God is coming to the University of Texas, we should prepare ourselves and be ready for it, because knowing God and seeing him work is infinitely more fulfilling than anything we might otherwise be doing. (Picture above: Watching and waiting for God to work.)

As Christians, we need to stop living lives of comfort and be willing to become uncomfortable for the sake of Christ. We have tried to enjoy Christ’s resurrection without his crucifixion, to reap the fruits of our salvation without first dying to our sinful nature. The result is a complacent people who are confident of what they deserve and forgetful of what they have been given. These people look the same to their peers as everyone else does, and so it does not seem that their God could be a god different than anyone else’s. The Christian faith here on campus is seemingly diminished.

How can we amend this? How can we fix ourselves, prepare the church for God’s work? The answer, I think, is that we can’t. We can’t unite this campus in the same way that we can’t bring about revival in the church. The problem is too widespread, too difficult—bolted into place by circumstances and politics and philosophy and time. We can’t bring about a change on the campus that we are powerless to execute in ourselves. (Picture left: Feeling powerless. Photo by Rachel Sibley.)

Here I am pretending that I know what’s going on, or what we need, but I can only see a small part of it. I understand very little, and I am fallible, and I do evil every day. I am a liar, a hypocrite, a slanderer; I am sinful and impure. But this is what I know: Through Christ I have been made pure. Through his love I have been sanctified. This is the beauty of the faith, and what we should cling to. I don’t want to seem like I am advocating salvation by works. As Paul says, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:7-9). Salvation is not gained from works; we have received it by faith. However, “[l]et us live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:16). Since we have already received God’s calling, we ought to live up to what he’s called us to by what we do. (Picture above: Kissing the pig doesn’t make us triumph! We kiss it because we’ve already triumphed! Unless you are referring to a World Literature class where you really need points.)

We need to seek God, and we need to seek him together. We need to seek him constantly, earnestly, in every circumstance and situation. In the early years of Christianity, when Paul was writing his epistles, churches met in houses. Rather than being called by the name of their denomination (since there were no denominations) they were called by the name of the place where they were—the Church at Corinth, the Church at Laodicea, etc. This was the time when I think the body of believers was most equivalent with the establishment. I think it would be good if we did something like this. If all of the Christians on one floor of a dormitory met together frequently to seek God and to pray for themselves, for their peers, and for the campus; if they would humble themselves and turn from their sin—then God would certainly hear them. I think we ought to start hall prayer, where all Christians in a hall can meet, and each hall can communicate with and encourage the halls above and below it. This way all followers of Christ in the dorms could be better unified and have an accessible place to be encouraged. Meeting together outside of the establishment could help to diminish barriers caused by style and structure of worship (though I am not suggesting that people stop going to church). Those who have not been encouraged to study the Bible and pray could be encouraged to study the Bible and pray, and we could constantly check each other, helping each other become aware if we act sinfully and lovingly carry each other’s burdens. (Picture left: Considering my higher purpose.)

This is my vision—that we would seek God together, that we would turn from our sin, and love one another in Christ. If God would raise us up and heal us, if he would pour his spirit upon us, then what started here would truly change the world.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Word Count: 1964