The Hands of Folly

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     "Wisdom builds her house but folly with her own hands tears it down." These are the words of Solomon, wisest monarch who ever sat upon an earthly throne. They are peculiarly appropriate in the study of religious reformation. Every attempt to offset the sectarian spirit has resulted in the formation of another party. Satan seems to delight in thwarting noble purposes and in diverting them back into the channel they seek to avoid.

     After almost a century of division and factionalism in the disciple brotherhood which grew out of the early nineteenth century restoration movement, we are again engaged in an attempt to recapture the spirit which animated our fathers. The revival of the restoration arouses mixed feelings among the adherents of every splinter party. Questions are being asked, doubts are expressed and positions are being challenged. All of this is a good omen. In any work of such momentous importance we should proceed with caution. Careful examination of every step is essential to assure proper and scriptural procedure. We need to face up fearlessly and unhesitatingly to the queries that are being raised.

     One of the most frequent points of interrogation concerns how we propose to avoid creation of another party. It has often been pointed out that it is possible to develop an anti-party faction. We should confess frankly the difficulty involved in maintaining a purely non-partisan position. We are not as brilliant as many who have preceded us nor any more consecrated to God than they were, yet their reformatory attempts ended in new sectarian alliances. A consideration of this fact is very humbling, saddening and frightening.

     It may happen that well-meaning but overly zealous individuals will employ such methods as would abuse our plea and turn this crusade into a factional movement. While we deplore such tactics we may be powerless to prevent them. However, it is our intention to labor for peace based on a destruction of all sectarianism and we feel there are certain basic considerations which can prevent another division and another party. Parties occur as the result of schisms and if we can prevent a rent in the fabric of fellowship we can keep formal factions from being created to the further disgrace of the cause to which we have committed our lives unreservedly. In this article we propose to enunciate the principles upon which we rely.

     1. We will regard division among brethren as a sin against them and Christ. So long as we look back upon it as a reserve weapon to be used as a last resort in defence of self we will justify its employment. The apostle classifies "strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, and party spirit" among the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20). It appears

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in a list which also includes immorality, idolatry, and drunkenness. He declares that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. One can hardly indulge in that which he has crucified.

     We should no more condone the party spirit than we should sanction idolatry or drunkenness. Idolatry is not a legitimate means of expressing an inner sense of reverence for a superior force in the universe; drunkenness is not a proper manner of satisfying thirst; neither is division a divinely authorized method of correcting error. Our problems in the fellowship are like all problems of human relationship, they are deep and complex. In seeking a solution we should be wary of any answer which appears to be cheap and easy. Separation in the religious realm is like separation in the domestic domain--it is an admission of failure. It is also a means of evading the real problem which is one of adjustment. It is easier to run away than to face up to reality.

     Like drunkenness, which is another work of the flesh, division is a form of escapism practiced by the insecure and socially incompetent. By visualizing division as God does we will come to look upon it as abhorrent, destructive of the family relationship, and alienating God's children from each other. Under such circumstances we will no more consider forming another party than we would practice any of the other sins of the flesh. Our best protection against the creation of another faction is a realization of the real nature of factionalism.

     One of the chief causes contributing to the present factional state is the loss of the significance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers. This has made of Christianity a cold legalistic system and such a system always intensifies problems of human relationship without settling them. "It is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit" (Jude 19). If divisions are set up by those who are devoid of the Spirit, it is obvious that only men who are filled with the Spirit can restore peace to a troubled world. It is the Spirit which links us with God and ties us to each other. I am one with every other person in the world in whom the Holy Spirit abides. If I can grasp this thought in all of its glorious fulness God can use me as a humble instrument to bring love, joy and peace to the hearts of men, for these are fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) in the lives of those who walk in the Spirit.

     The partnership of the ransomed ones is really "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" (2 Cor. 13:14) which, like the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, should abide with all of us. That fellowship obligates us to have a mutual concern for unity. One can no more practice or defend division among brethren than he could practice or defend any of the other works of the flesh. We must not get the divine order reversed. Our fellowship does not grow out of thinking and feeling alike, but these result from our fellowship. It is not because we have a common concern for unity that we enter into the fellowship, but because we are in the fellowship the care for unity follows in the hearts of all who are true disciples. This

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_ is clearly portrayed in a remarkable passage written by Paul. "If then our common life in Christ yields anything to stir the heart, any loving consolation, any sharing of the Spirit, any warmth of affection or compassion, fill up my cup of happiness by thinking and feeling alike, with the same love for one another, the same turn of mind, and a common core for unity" (Phil. 2:1, 2).

     The hands of folly have torn down the house of wisdom by ignoring the cementing influence of the Spirit and substituting conformity of opinion, unanimity of interpretation, or attainment to a certain level of knowledge as the basis of community. These things are responsible for every creed that has been written by men. They are the very elements which have swept over the Christian structure through the ages and left a trail of destruction in their wake. It is as impossible to have peace upon such a foundation as it would be to build a Christian character upon the works of the flesh. These have occasioned the bitter quarrels and the cruel fights that have marred the history of Christendom. The only hope of offsetting them lies with the Spirit. "If you go on fighting one another tooth and nail, all you can expect is mutual destruction. I mean this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will not fulfill the desires of your lower nature" (Gal. 5:15, 16).

     The party spirit cannot dwell in a heart that is filled with the Holy Spirit. Factionalism is a symptom of the lower nature, of that which is carnal within us. "Can you not see that while there is jealousy and strife among you, you are living on the purely human level of your lower nature?" (1 Cor. 3:3). It is impossible to change a man's nature by law. So long as we seek to overcome the problem of strife by law we will only create more strife. We must have divine aid to overthrow the lower nature. It is at this juncture we should grasp the importance of a statement of the apostle with reference to "the desires of your lower nature." He writes, "That nature sets its desires against the Spirit, while the Spirit fights against it...But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law" (Gal. 5:17, 18).

     We recognize the weakness and frailties of our human nature. That nature prompts us to engage in quarrels and disputes. It causes us to contend jealously for our own opinions and ideas. It inspires a feeling of revenge and retribution. It is responsible for rivalry and personal vanity. All the laws ever passed will not overcome these tendencies for nature is not altered by law. Even the divinely ordained law which was "holy and just and good" (Rom. 7:12) could not transform man. "What the law could never do, because our lower nature robbed it of all potency, God has done...our...conduct no longer under the control of our lower nature, is directed by the Spirit' (Rom. 8:3, 4). The Spirit not only fights against the lower nature but is victorious over it. That nature is put to death by the Spirit. "It follows, my friends, that our lower nature has no claim upon us; we are not obliged to live on that level. If you do so, you must die. But if by the Spirit you put to death all the base pursuits of the body, then you will live (Rom. 8:12, 13).

     Since law has no power to transform and our lower nature robs it of potency, it appears that if we are to overcome such works of the flesh as strife, division and party intrigues, we must live on a plane above "the purely human level." This is the equivalent of saying we must reside in a domain which transcends law, a realm in which law is not operable. In such a realm one is not guided by laws which are external but by an inner power. The fruits of such a life are not regulated by any written code. "The harvest of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness and self-control. There is no law dealing with such things as these. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the lower nature with its passions and desires. If the Spirit is the source of our life, let the Spirit also direct our course" (Gal. 5:22-25).

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     What we are striving for is no mere reformation of our thinking but a complete and absolute resignation of self, the whole self, to the Spirit. Certainly this will effect a radical change in our thought patterns but only as such mental concepts are part of the entire being. Our problem in the past lies in the fact that our religion has been only a part of our lives. It is an area reserved in the heart or mind to find expression on certain days, in certain places, or in doing certain things. To the true Christian there should be no specific "sacred" days, places, or things. Wherever he is, whatever he does or whenever it is done, all must be done to the glory of God. No one can divide the family of God and do it to His glory. To think that he can do so is to think evil if division is evil.

     It is our aim to recapture the significance of the greatest commandment, the one which must come first. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." The word "all" leaves no department of life untouched. It provides no possibility for making provision for the flesh to fulfill its desires, not even the desire to get away from those who are problems to us. Note the term "all your mind." This lifts religion from a purely pietistic level and makes it a practical something. One must analyze himself and his associates with a view to solving problems, not creating them. We shall stop short of nothing less than the wholly committed intelligence of all.

     How will this avoid division in the spiritual ranks? The answer is quite simple. Division and strife belong on the "human level of your lower nature" (1 Cor 3:3). When men, through surrender to the Holy Spirit, move off of this level to a higher one they will no longer resort to those means which they formerly employed. "You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on the new nature of God's creating, which shows itself in the just and devout life called for by truth" (Eph. 4:23, 24). There will be a recognition that the Holy Spirit can be grieved but there will be studious avoidance of those things which would offend this royal guest. "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for that Spirit is the seal with which you are marked for the day of our final liberation. Have done with spite and passion, all angry shouting and cursing, and bad feeling of every kind. Be generous to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph. 4:30-32).

     To Paul, those who assembled as a divined church, still constituted "the church

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of God which is at Corinth" and were "the called saints" (1 Cor. 1:2). They were in the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord (verse 9). In the very passages where he mentions their strife he addresses them as brethren. It appears that he did this deliberately to show that in spite of their schisms the relationship with him had not been dissolved. "It has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren" (1:11). "But I, Brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ" (3:1). It was in connection with his teaching against striving for special honor and exalting self that Jesus said, "You are all brothers" (Matthew 23:8). A recognition of the extent of brotherhood and the equality which grows out of it will preclude all factional ambition.

     One who is genuine has a proper evaluation of men. He realizes that Apollos and Paul are mere servants through whom men believe. One of them may plant, the other may water the plants, but only God can give the increase. "He who plants and he who waters are equal" (3:8) so it is foolish to "be puffed up in favor of one against another" (4:6). In view of this one should not "boast of men" (3:21) but, "as it is written, 'Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord'" (1:31). The Corinthians were urged to become imitators of Paul (4:16) and Paul simply refused to recognize the denominational lines drawn in the congregation. He regarded his allegiance as belonging to Jesus and not to a party. To him the kingdom of heaven was greater than any faction and he did not propose to allow his vision to be shortened by factional limitations.

     The genuine believer recognizes that Jesus is central and everything revolves around him. He refuses to be sidetracked or stampeded by any philosophy which puts human interpretation as primary and the Son of God as secondary. One of the chief causes of factionalism is that of "taking sides" or of "lining up" with this group or that. Many do not see that the factional spirit cannot be overcome until someone is able to rise above it and recognize that being in the party is not the equivalent to being in Christ. It is possible to oppose evil tendencies and error without creating a party through which to do so. Much that passes for faithfulness in these days is merely fidelity to the party and men will do virtually anything to make the faction succeed. Pride is the basis of much of our contention in these days. We reject it with all of its implications as containing no hope for a better future.

     It is pointed out that those who are factional and opposed to the crusade for unity may drive us out. We are asked if this will not automatically create another party. Drive us out of what? No man can drive us out of Jesus Christ our Lord! The only thing men can do is to exclude us from their hearts for over those hearts we have no control. But they cannot remove themselves from our hearts for over these they have no control. And we simply refuse to be separated in heart from any of our brethren. If we go among them and they refuse to recognize us, when they come among us we will welcome them. We will pray

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for them, help them, share with them to the extent they will permit; and when they will not permit we will love them just the same. We will still visit them and go among them when we can even though they ignore us.

     It is our intention to engage in no party intrigues, to sanction no political alliances against any of God's children. We will not form any power blocs nor seek for advantage through human cleverness. When men employ such measures against us we shall not retaliate in kind. It is our honest feeling that God can be served by our dishonor as well as our honor, by the blame heaped upon us as well as the praise bestowed upon us. "Honor and dishonor, praise and blame are alike our lot: we are the impostors who speak the truth, the unknown men whom all men know; dying we still live on; disciplined by suffering, we are not done to death; in our sorrows we have always cause for joy; poor ourselves, we bring wealth to many; penniless, we own the world" (2 Cor. 8:9-10). Of course it is very difficult to maintain this ideal under pressure but God will strengthen with might those who plead for peace. "Blessed are the peacemakers..."

     We will not sever ourselves from our brethren. If we go to communities where they are divided we shall see beyond the walls and envision our brethren on both sides of the barriers. We will call upon those to pray with whom we cannot agree upon many things; we will give brotherly recognition to those whose hearts are filled with personal bitterness against us. Our entreaty to them will be, "Do make a place for us in your hearts! We have wronged no one, ruined no one, taken advantage of no one. I do not want to blame you. Why, as I have told you before, the place you have in our heart is such that, come death, come life, we meet it together" (2 Cor. 7:2, 3). If Paul could feel thus toward the Corinthians I have never seen a congregation toward which I could not feel the same way. Bad as are some of the congregations I know, I am not aware of any as far gone as was the church at Corinth when the apostle wrote of "the place you have in our heart." My brethren just cannot remove themselves from my heart. The key to it belongs to Jesus!

     No faction is the "loyal church." This is a myth which has become traditional in spite of the fact that it is opposed to both scripture and sense. No doubt every faction has discovered some truth, although quite frequently the point of factional emphasis is mere opinion. But no faction has discovered all of the implications of God's word for our generation and adoption of the factional attitude precludes the possibility of arriving at further truths. Every faction is circumscribed by an unwritten creed. An invisible circle has been drawn beyond which no amount of study or research can take one because as long as a faction regards itself as "the faithful church" to go beyond the party interpretation is considered as "transgressing and abiding not in the doctrine of Christ." It is the very essence of factionalism that it equates its partisan brotherhood as "the Church of Christ" and its party line as the revelation of God.

     Factional representatives urge their adherents to study to show themselves approved, but the word "study" is a loaded

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term. It does not mean to do unbiased research but to search the Bible for additional arguments to defend the partisan status quo. The party hero is the one who can twist and wrest the most passages to make the factional position appear more plausible in debate. The real student of God's word is regarded as a heretic and soon driven forth. There is nothing more dangerous to factionalism than real objective research of God's message to mankind. The last thing any faction wants to see is for its members to start truly studying and thinking for themselves.

     Since every faction has discovered some truth but no faction has discovered all truth, the exclusivist attitude makes it impossible to share the truths we have learned or to share in the truths which others have learned. The party spirit is inimical to all non-sectarian growth or development. The result is that the thinking of every party becomes inbred and sterile. It ceases to be original and creative. Minds become rusty and hearts become barren from mere repetition of traditional explanations and accepted interpretations. Those who doubt are driven out, those who question are made unwelcome. The faction becomes a gloomy fortress to preserve musty thought which the free world has long since outgrown in its onward march toward greater knowledge. Yet, in our current state we do not recommend going from one fortress to another. We suggest that all of them throw open their windows and let in the fresh air and drain their moats and provide free access. There are good brethren behind all of the somber and forbidding walls.

     The "loyal church fallacy" has driven brethren to a practice in the past which is divisive in its very nature. When members of one faction learned a truth from a member of another faction, they forthwith concluded that the party of their former allegiance was not faithful and transferred to the other. In many instances they began a campaign to win as many of their former associates as possible and thus intensified the feeling which was already aroused against them as "traitors" and "apostates." The spirit of rivalry is always kindled by such injudicious procedure. One is not in any party long until he discovers that, while it is strong in some things, it is very weak in others. Disillusionment is the inevitable fate of all who change affiliation to find the "faithful church."

     Our recommendation is that the brethren in the various factions stay where they are and act as leaven for good. What is needed is not the creation of a new segment called "the loyal church" but people who are loyal to Christ Jesus the Lord in spite of the unfortunate schisms which have occurred in the past. One who has grown up in a faction understands its motivations and is in better position to share with its members the truths he gains than one coming from a different background. Moreover, when one transfers to another group he loses his effectiveness for reformation among those with whom he has been associated, and often is regarded with suspicion by those to whom he goes. It is contrary to the spirit of Jesus for us to abandon those whom we deem to be sick in order to associate with those we consider to be well. If we learn a truth we can do very little to spread it among those who already have it but we could do a great deal in sharing our knowledge with those who have not yet ascertained it.

     Congregations are made up of human beings and all of them will be beset by the same problems which confront persons. It is not being a member of "a faithful congregation" but being a faithful member of the one body that counts. The congregations planted by the apostles of our Lord fall very far short of heaven's ideal. Paul planted and Apollos watered at Corinth but the congregation was far from perfect. Now if Paul could not start a congregation that remained "faithful" on what grounds do we flatter ourselves that we can do so? It is for this reason that not one of the apostles ever commanded brethren to pull out and start a "loyal church." With all of the tragic sins infecting some of the seven churches

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in Asia Minor Jesus did not instruct the members of any of them to withdraw and start "a faithful church" across the street. Surely those who planted them in the first place were faithful and if they could depart so far from the original intent, any other congregation started by an elite corps would terminate the same way.

     The attempt to start faithful churches by separation from brethren can only fill the earth with unfaithful factions! There is only one church on earth. There never was but one, there never will be another. Starting a faction is not planting the church. There are people in all of the factions who are members of the church. Some in all factions are as faithful as they know how to be, some in all of them are a disgrace to the Christian profession. A faction does not become "the faithful church" by a particular position on colleges, cups, and classes, because a faction is not the church at all. The church is greater than any faction, greater than all of them together, greater than the restoration movement, greater than "The Church of Christ" which is one segment that grew out of the restoration movement.

     If a man has grown up in a narrow intolerant party and increasing wisdom demonstrates to him that it is not the church to the exclusion of all others, let him not leave his brethren and go join another faction. Let him stay where he is, love those with whom he has labored, exhibit patience and forbearance in sharing his newly-found knowledge. "The servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but kindly towards all. He should be a good teacher, tolerant, and gentle when discipline is needed for the refractory. The Lord may grant them a change of heart and show them the truth, and thus they may come to their senses (2 Tim. 2:24, 25). Instead of refusing to associate with congregations which were wrong in profession and practice, it was precisely that kind of congregations which the apostles proposed to visit and to which they sent evangelists. Their letters were not all written to "loyal churches." There was hardly a "new testament congregation" which would not have been split by modern adherents of Church-of-Christ-ism.

     The "leaven concept" of kingdom extension is directly opposed to the "loyal church" fallacy. The first operates by keeping the truth in contact with those who do not as yet have it; the second operates by removing the truth from contact in order to preserve it inviolate. The first has as its goal the saving of men; the second has as its goal the saving of truth. The fallacy lies in a misunderstanding of the nature of truth. Truth is incapable of destruction. We do not need to take steps to save it or protect it. It is eternal and invincible. Actually, men do not lose truth. They stray from it and become lost. It is the men who are lost and not the truth. To take truth from those who do not have it in order to preserve it is like taking medicine from the sick in order to keep the medicine. Jesus knew this so he deliberately chose to associate with social and religious outcasts. The Pharisees, whose very name means "Separatists" could not understand this. Their counterparts in our own day still do not understand it.

     All of our factions have grown out of the "loyal church" fallacy for this is the natural fruit of an arrogant party spirit. When one rejects this whole concept he will not clutter up the religious landscape with another useless party. He will not try to get men to leave where they are and cleave to him, but stay where they are and cling to Christ. The only ones who should leave where they are at present are those who have deserted their brethren in the past because of an erroristic philosophy. They should repent of their error in thinking and return and inform the brethren they were sorry that they separated from them. This does not mean they must admit they were wrong in accepting new truth but simply that they made a mistake when they allowed an increasing knowledge to sever them from those whom they love. Of course, it will no doubt be true

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that most of these can labor better in their new and present relationship, but it will serve the cause of unity if they are big enough to express regret for their former action in separating.

     We are striving for a fellowship of the concerned ones in every party instead of having concern for another party. This will establish fellowship on a horizontal rather than upon a vertical plane. The fellowship in Christ is always horizontal. It cuts across all barriers and penetrates all walls-- social, racial, national and political. The factional fellowship is always vertical. It draws a line of demarkation down through the saints. We must recapture a sense of fellowship which reaches through these lines. This means that those who are among the concerned will actually feel a closer kinship with those who are concerned in other parties than they will with the unconcerned in their own party. This fellowship will be based upon spiritual affinity and not upon mere geographical proximity. It will be a union of kindred minds and not merely a gathering of persons in the same building. To take the concerned ones out of all the parties and create a new party composed of these would be a tragic error. It would do the very thing we oppose. Moreover, it would convert many of the concerned into unconcerned ones for it is in time of greatest challenge that we exhibit the greatest concern. There is little incentive to propagandize among those who share our every conviction because there is no need to do so.

     This horizontal fellowship will touch the good and honest hearts in all of the parties and the work of peacemaking will be extended. Those who are in Christ are in the church wherever they are. Any person who must leave where he is and join something else to be in the church is not in Christ to start with. Here is the real solution to the problem of creating a new party. It would be ridiculous to separate brethren and band them together into another faction to plead for unity. It is wrong to create a faction even to propagate truth. Let brethren remain where they are, share the truths they learn and learn additional truths. It is not necessary to change parties to practice truth. This has been our childish procedure in the past and every reformation among us has created a new party. It is impossible to form a new faction if every man stays where he now is. Truth is not a party possession and belongs to no faction. If you were to start a new faction truth would no more be its private property than it is that of the factions already in existence.

     There are those who urge that this is providing "an easy way out" but such is not the case at all. Nothing is more trying or difficult than to remain where brethren do not agree with you. This requires tolerance and forbearance. It taxes the patience and tests Christian fortitude. It would be much easier to "pull up stakes" and leave just as it would be easier for a doctor to spend all of his time with people who are well. The factional way is the easy way because it is the path of evasion and escapism. Those who are shopping around to find a group which agrees with them on every point are looking for something which does not exist unless they locate a party of bland conformists. And if the bland lead the bland they will both fall in the ditch!

     It is argued by some partisans that certain factions are more nearly right than some others and one should get in the one that is "nearest right." Our observation of these "nearest right groups is that they judge the degree of rightness by the intensity of contention for certain partisan tests while in spirit and attitude they are very smug and self-righteous. Many of them do little, if anything, to take the message to the world. They are satisfied and complacent, contentious and exclusive. But who is to judge the proportion of error in a congregation which makes it imperative that you leave, or the degree of righteousness in another which makes it "loyal." Who is to set the standard or formulate the criteria for measurement of the status of righteousness? One thing

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I do know and that is the congregation is far from right which sets brethren at nought and holds them in contempt because of opinion (Romans 14:3). Congregations, like Pharisees, can pray, "Lord, we thank thee that we are not as others."

     A man does not separate himself from those whom he loves. Separation is the result of sin, selfishness and sectarianism. Love is the bridge that spans the gulf created by these evil forces. Sin separates; love unites. The prophet declared, "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God" (Isa. 59:2). The apostle writes, "But Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and that is God's own proof of his love toward us" (Rom. 5:8). One is drawn toward those whom he loves and separation produces agony of heart until reunion occurs. No one ever voluntarily separates from an object of his wholehearted affection and when uncontrollable circumstances conspire to create such separation there is constant longing for the joyous occasion of meeting once more.

     If we accept as factual the glorious attribute of love as presented in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we can never again separate from our brethren and we must labor to heal those breaches already existing. These majestic phrases describing love should be engraved upon our hearts in livid letters of flame. They should not be merely memorized but memorialized in our lives. God help us to understand the urgent need in this time of crisis of this divine fruit so that we may reach forth our hands to pluck it and make it ours. "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

     The hands of folly will tear down any house that wisdom builds if allowed to do so. We have seen the piles of wreckage and the heaps of debris which mark the ruin of a glorious restoration movement. It is time once more to "rise up and build." Let us forego the wrecking bar and take up again the tools of the artisan. Let us "seek peace and ensue it." Let us find the way to keep the fabric of brotherhood intact despite our differences. We must decide whether we shall bequeath to posterity a temple of righteousness or a gloomy ruin. If we continue to shiver and shatter our "breaking will be that of a potter's vessel which is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a sherd is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or dip water up out of the cistern" (Isaiah 30:14).

     There is no greater ideal to which the child of God can be consecrated in these days than that of the unity of all believers in Christ Jesus. This is the answer to the world's problem! It is our only hope of survival! Let us banish from our hearts the spirit of factionalism. Let us enthrone Jesus in our lives until he rules and reigns in every department of our existence. Then we can help to bring about that glorious state for which he prayed.