“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Col 1:15-23 ESV)
All assurances are up for grabs when it comes to faith in Christ. Certainty that a gesture, a name, a cognoscenti purr or smartness will prove right and just and true come world’s end… it is a false Certainty. Christ’s entire ministry challenged the people—including us—to reward a very different kind of outlay, to murmur tones humble, to act in ways selfless, to speak in terms understanding, pertinent, relevant, loving and dear.
Christ’s ministry fool-proofed itself insofar as the wealthy of the world covet it, attend the services, make the gestures, but built right into the Faith is a radical claim: Christ for us, the meek for the wealthy, the self-sacrificial for the one who hoards and adjudicates great influence, the submitted for the ones who stagger under the weight of their own mastery and guiltlessness.
Therefore very sad conclusions obtain, only these are Redeemed in the tomorrow-hope of Resurrection. Sad conclusions: that man goes to war with man, around her or his perceived authority structures (“where is my leading man, leading lady?”). The first claim, that the meek in the land did indeed have a Vision, a Prophecy, an Action Plan, is gently reassessed to say: as much then, so too Now, do we the meek of the land have an Action Plan. Will you now corrected, will you now Listen?
The staggering truth is, half of church folk are simply blissfully unaware of how the other half lives, and assume that ye old great Church is the arbiter of all things. Wouldn’t that be convenient? That we could edge in the direction of Always Right simply by where we plop down on Sunday mornings? That we could deny the Book to middling classes of mankind, and assume that we are Better only because of what things we know, what Authority we’ve been blissfully inducted into by the pastor’s glib power plays.
To fight on these terms, then: it is sadly the Ruin of so much that was good and true. The church herself has compromised, bucked and neighed, wrassled and rejected, things good, copacetic, and true. The church herself has Failed yet again to stand on the right side of history. And yet also God has a plan, to humble the proud perhaps, but to imprint Uniquely His folk, who even themselves do ask: have I myself become Glib, Cute, Compromised? Hardly! We announce a Victory on behalf of certain small figures on the Scene, on behalf of a few who—all atheistic despair aside—have Much to hope in. We are no longer atheistic insofar as we Believe all is done according to a Good Father’s Will. That Father… see Him trust and delegate to the Children of God, the Sons and Daughters, that their innate Drive, their sense of Purpose, their Missional Posture, is the be-all and come-all of Life this generation.
No rewards in the long run, no prizes except this: that we Know we work for Him. We know we are circumscribed and surrounded by so great a congregation of angels in song. We are aware we may go for broke, not earn the accolades of the monetary inheritances, but all this in exchange for the greater Gift: to labor for the Master Above. And we are no longer glib or humorless, as far as thinking that anyone the world finally Acknowledges, this Someone must be a culprit, a loser, an undeserving one. No, we can take stock in our own Vigilante brand of life, that a Beauteous evolved and evolving Lifeform twinkles and sparkles in the blissful morning Light, leaping great gusto from the evolutionary swamp, into the fresh air and the Certainty of God who does miraculous deeds far surpassing our best efforts… efforts—Let’s build three tents, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah (Luke 9:33)—indeed, reverie is a small Portion of the Gift He has assigned to our stead. We shall go down reverent, in reverie, in Amazement, at the patient Gift of guidance met with individualism and personal Quest met with Duty and Servant-mindedness.