Disciples Home Missions Update: from the President

Descendre Lux Omnia Caelo

 

The saying above is translated from the Latin into English as "All Light Comes from Above." It is said to be the motto of one of the founders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Alexander Campbell (1788-1866).

 

Present day Disciples still maintain that divine illumination is essential for the search for truth, beauty, and goodness. Indeed, without such illumination all our attempts to understand the world and one another are at most incomplete.

 

The Apostle Paul once wrote: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; but then I will know fully . . ." [1 Corinthians 15:12]. Some view this verse as apocalyptic or eschatological, dealing with last things. I see it as a reference to the present reality of our lives: humans are not perfect, see only partially, and are prone to dim sightedness. One day we will reach perfection, know fully, and perceive reality with clarity.

 

What this means is that we are on a journey. We have not yet arrived. As we journey all will not be peaches and cream. There will be some hard knocks along the way. Our best made plans will come unraveled. We will be human and fall.

 

It is precisely because of our humanness that we choose to look beyond to that Descendre lex omnia caelo, that light which comes from above, and follow where that light leads. It will help cushion some of our falls and guide us in the way of everlasting.

 

The summer is now over and a new year will be upon us in just a few short months. I hope you pastors and congregational leaders will resolve along with me to follow that light from above rather than your own individual light. For when all is said and done, the 'big' light will see us through everything – cuts, scrapes, bruises and all. The 'little' light will see us through nothing. Our individual lights only shine when connected to that One from above.

 

Illuminating-ly yours,

Ron Degges