The statement of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians is reflective of several factors that pertain to anyone among his readers – humility, imperfection, ignorance, and mystery in addition to the implications about the nature of God to supply whatever is needed and missing in Christian life. Our attention here will relate to the mystery of affirmation. Christians are called to the ministry of affirmation, and even that has a mystery that we can perceive only in part. There may be Christians called to the public place to battle for faith, God, righteousness, and their inclusions, as observed in John the Baptist or the Apostle Paul, but the vast number of persons are to live a peaceful life of affirmation shown in the modeling of Christ in righteousness, and the humility of mankind in affirmative context related to persuasion favoring the affirmations of God. This is not docility or repose, but the active living of life that grows toward the parallel of that which was first given to Adam and Eve to simply have children so to give and receive life and love, and to dress the garden and know it, which is to have work and educate self to the best environment that human beings might create with whatever resources may be available. As magnificent as this pattern may be, it is too limited and boring for those who do not find themselves fulfilled in experience with God for life. They seek other boundaries so make other mysteries that may include high risk, find self-fulfillment in private pursuits, fight life by testing its enemies in the belief that those enemies can be overcome, or are just figments of the flights of the mind and emotion, so that larger mystery is manufactured. The avenues of fulfillment may pace each other together, but, at some point, one or the other takes over and becomes the measure of the person to the end.
The mystery of my life, I decided, was to be found in the mystery of God, so I made a life changing decision to measure all of life as the God of the universe would have it – as he revealed it in Jesus Christ and Scripture left to those who followed the mystery – in his direction. I tend to identify it as his will and plan for me, and for all else to me in the universe. Only that part is known to me that he either reveals (a faith matter), or I discover in the course of relating (an educational matter) to the context of nature in which I live. The great advantage, even in the vast ignorance, is that I refuse to be limited to only that which is discovered in the context of nature and space. I do best when I find the relationship between the context of mortality and that of immortality – of earth and heaven. There is an overlap that offers unity to the mind – in faith and nature.
That is best done in affirmations. The negations (opposites) can be left to others, used only by me to help clarify the affirmations of my life. I affirm that I am free to be myself, under God. I affirm my mate, my children, and the family of which I am a part in some identity, perhaps even in adoption of others. I affirm my neighbors and fellow citizens, not only of my beloved country, language and groupings, but the caring relationships I have and feel toward all peoples. I affirm the gifts of others, the status of others as that status serves mankind. I affirm the rights that belong to all persons. I affirm the values of honesty, ideals, truth, respect, work and the qualities of patience, longsuffering, and what is known in the Christian context as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. I affirm the constructive uses of time in meaningful work, education, care for the suffering and the needy persons in the population – and recreations. I affirm the efforts of the peacemakers, the sacrifices for others, the means for safety and order in societies and between societies.
It is true that one who holds firmly to affirmations must be interpreted perforce to be opposed to the contraries of those affirmations. However, one may be opposed without taking on the warfare against those opposing the affirmations. In loving enemies and doing good for those who may despitefully use us, Christians rely on the Lord to take on the conflicts he wishes to engage. Christians are to be persons of peace and good will, but also persons of God’s context for the good of all persons who will participate in the search. All this is part of the mystery of both God and those persons who wish to be a part of the mystery in resisting what is wrong by pursuing and affirming that which is in the context of righteousness. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020