“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
Luke 14:26-33
In this section, we’re seeking to answer the question:
- How can we live wisely in God’s world by filtering knowledge and living with understanding?
Blueprints & Battlegrounds
Let me begin with an illustration. Consider for a moment the building of a house. What is needed to bring this to fruition? At a minimum, there must be an idea of what the house ought to look like, a blueprint drawn up that captures the idea and gives a framework for construction, a location selected that supports the desired design, resources procured to construct the house, and much more.
In our modern world, the design would be expressed in blueprints; the location would be determined by a realtor knowledgeable of the area, environment, etc. The required resources, such as labor, materials, equipment, and more, would be secured in advance and applied sequentially to accommodate the building process. Contracts would be executed to ensure unity of purpose.
As we all know, the illustration above will encounter obstacles along the way, requiring all the parties involved to revisit the original design and agreements. If, at any point, the obstacles are insurmountable and a legal team must be engaged to settle disputes, then the contracts executed around the original design will, at the very least, guide the proceedings.
In other words, during securing the land, building the house, and finally moving in to live, conflict will occur on various battlegrounds that must have a remedy in the form of blueprints outside the mere preferences of the individuals involved.
Let’s make this illustration more primitive. Let’s say we lived 200 years ago, and a settler comes into a new territory that their family has recently acquired. Let’s say the area is predominately forest, with a stream running through a portion of the property. Let’s say the settler has essential tools, animals, and knowledge to initiate the homesteading process. For the sake of this illustration, let’s also assume this is a family with the skill and know-how to succeed.
Where do they begin? They probably won’t draw up blueprints like we would today, but would they not be guided by previous experience and training? They probably won’t have a realtor like today, but will they not need some documents to prove ownership? They probably would not have ready access to home improvement stores like we do today, but they will have the materials present on the site.
Taking this illustration to its conclusion, will the settler not examine their property with diligence to determine the best location, materials, protection, and much more? They won’t randomly cut down trees for the home or the area of his house, barn, animals, and fencing. They won’t haphazardly overlook the water source in relation to their daily activities. They won’t ignore the external threats to their well-being regarding their social situation. They won’t inconsiderately act to the detriment of their neighbors. And on and on.
Now, suppose this settler seeks not only to survive but also to prepare the next generation to continue expanding civilization. Training, explaining, modeling, and giving way to experience will be part and parcel of the settler’s daily routine. Consequently, they’ll need to be governed by principles outside themselves and their transient inclinations or desires. Procuring lumber, water, and other materials won’t be easy, nor will caring for animals, feeding themselves, and more. Every day will present challenges that must be overcome. To survive and continue in their homestead, they must have a purpose and follow through with executing that purpose. Otherwise, their homestead will be diminished and ultimately destroyed.
Thus, to overcome the challenges and thrive in the conditions, this settler must be guided by a plan that gives purpose to every action, decision, and element in carving a life on the wild and pristine land that has become the place for their flourishing.
But what if they aren’t guided by a design or a blueprint? How will they engage on the battlegrounds of trial and tribulations? To put it another way, if the settlers don’t have a design guiding their building and homesteading activities, how will they confront the daily challenges that will inevitably arise?
- Let’s say they cut down trees without considering how those trees fit into their overall purpose for survival, and those trees just so happened to be the fruit orchards that had previously grown in one area of their property.
- How will this impact their food procurement in the long run?
- Let’s say they placed their house with a good view, but it was a long walk from their stream and spring.
- How will this impact their water procurement in the long run?
- Let’s say they put a dike on the stream to divert the flow and water a portion of their property more fully.
- How will this impact the ecosystem of the now flooded area and the social relationship with neighbors downstream?
The examples could continue ad infinitum.
So, what’s the point for us today?
The point is:
- Christians must seek to know God’s biblical-theological blueprints to effectively engage in our current culture’s everyday conflicts (battlefields).
- Then, the Christian can place the actions, events, circumstances, and complex knowledge in the context of a larger plan. He knows the what.
- Then, the Christian can understand how to engage in those battlegrounds with purpose. He knows the why.
- Then, the Christian has the best potential to be effective in the mission of God because he has wisdom. He knows the how.
In application,
It begins with a daily time in God’s Word to…
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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