Who Owns it Anyway?

thereisnotasquareinchinthewholedomainofourhumanexist enceoverwhichChrist,whoisSovereignoverall,doesnotcry:Mine! AbrahamKuyper

ThisfamousquotefromAbrahamKuyperinspiresustograsptheclaimGodmakesonthis worldandtoseehowourdailyac onscanresultinthecommongoodofthosearoundus. ThisquoteistakenfromaspeechthatKuypergaveatthefoundingoftheFreeUniversityin AmsterdamonOctober20,1880. Asapastor,theprimeministeroftheNetherlandsandasolidthinker,Kuypermadeaname forhimselfintheological,poli calandacademiccircles.ThefoundingoftheFreeUniversity wasakeymomentforKuyperbecausehesawtheuniversityasaplacewherehisworlds couldcometogetherandwherecommonpeoplewouldbetrainedtoseetheworldandtheir faithinanewway.* Thebeginningofthequoteiso enle o,butisimportanttoseeingthebiggerpictureof Kuypersthought: Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be herme cally sealed o from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: Mine! ThiskeymomentinKuypersspeechislikeamirrorintothelargermessageheissendingustoday.Heissayingthat thewholeoftheworldandallitscreatures,geographies,systems,cultures,industriesandins tu onsbelongtoGod andGodrequiresustobeOnCallinthiswiderworldforHim. SoifChristclaimsthewholeoftheworldasMine!whatshouldourresponsebe?Herearesomeques onsforyou toconsider:

Considerhowyouviewyourfaithandtheoutsideworld.Doyouseethemasintegratedorhaveyouseparated themintosilos? Doyouasabelieverfeelpermissiontoinvestinyourcareer,thearts,poli csandsociety?Whatstrugglesdoyou haveinseeingthesearenasasbelongingtoChrist? IfGodclaimstheworldandhasputyouinit,areyoulivingOnCallforHim?Areyouseeingeveryac vityofevery dayassomethingGodhasgivenyoutodoasaresultofHisgrace?

*JamesD.Bra ,ed.,AbrahamKuyper:ACentennialReader(GrandRapids:Wm.B.Eerdmans,1998,pp.46162)

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