When Form Surmounts Function

Driving in the car yesterday morning, I heard a radio commercial ending with the bold assertion: “this is what you were born to do.” The commercial was for the media and television degree program of a local Christian university. Before I continue, let’s sum up what this essentially means from a Biblical perspective: “this is what you were created to do.” You, the potential media and television degree student, were created for the purpose of becoming a screenwriter, television producer or the like – and thankfully, this school is there to fulfill that purpose.

Now, let’s play this out to its conclusion. This commercial is stating, though hopefully unknowingly, that the Creator of the Universe was sitting around thinking, “there are just not enough television producers on my earth, We must add another one,” and thereby the individual – who was soon to become a student at this particular university – was created. Wow. The tragedy lies not in the statement, but that a Christian university would make such a statement. The tragedy lies in the fact that form surmounted function.

For the secular world, which does not, nor cannot, believe in ultimate function, must embrace form. This is a given. For a secular university to make a case such as, “this is what you were born to do” would correspond to its own axioms, however illogical they may eventually be proven to be. Any thing you decide for yourself is what you were born to do – since there is only you. There is no ultimate purpose. There is no ultimate function. And if there is no ultimate function; then form is all there is. But it is a hopeless quest. For form cannot produce meaning. Why? Because form is created by man. And if man cannot produce ultimate meaning, than a maker’s forms cannot be expected to do what its maker cannot. So at the height of illogicality, we must embrace more and more of the form, so as to lose ourselves in the multitude of forms and thereby never consider the loss of ultimate function.

But the Biblical Worldview states clearly that you were not ultimately made for form. You were made for ultimate function. Because there is an ultimate function, and the Creator of the universe and mankind wants every one of His creation, His image, to be inserted into His ultimate function. The problem? We are often too caught up in the forms. And therefore form not only surmounts function, but function is used to propagate form. This is echoed in Jesus’ vehement attack on the teachers of Law as blind leaders of the blind. In other words, God is saying, “I gave you the form (Law) to understand the function, and you’ve missed the function completely. You’ve been content with the form, because adhering to form gives you the credit, not Me.”

The reality? The Biblical Worldview declares you are here for a function. You were created for an ultimate function. God, the Creator of the Universe, specifically created you so that you could be an integral part of transforming His earth and His image back to the intended purpose for His planet and His creation. That is His Way. He has mapped out and planned how you are to accomplish that glorious goal; His “ministry of reconciliation.” We are each called and commissioned to reconcile His earth and His image “on earth as it is in heaven.” We are commissioned to build His Kingdom. And through that goal He may use you as a dentist, as an electrician, as a lawyer, and yes as a television producer and scriptwriter, as well as a husband, a wife, a friend, an uncle or aunt, or any of the numerous other titles each of us hold simultaneously. Form follows function.

But you can miss it. Yes, you can miss it by never accepting the grace and mercy offered by His Son, never having been born out of the curse of death of this world through Christ’s death of the cross. And even under that grace and mercy, you can still miss it through the punishment of blatant sin. We so often focus on the fact that God forgives sin, we don’t understand that the consequences of sin play out long after that forgiveness, both naturally as well as spiritually. But the term “sin” refers to “missing the mark” in all its respects. So you can also miss it by focusing too much on form, and not paying attention to function. And herein lies a strategy of the enemy of mankind, because ultimate function is so much more astounding than any form. One of the many goals of the enemy of mankind is to flood the world with form, so we are too brimming with form that we never consider the value of ultimate function.

“A sated (full) man loathes honey…” Proverbs 27:7 NASB (parenthesis mine)

Bono, in his address at the National Prayer breakfast, brilliantly articulated the true relation of form and function. He talked about the wise man that once offered him the following advice:

“He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing (form). Get involved in what God is doing (function) – because it’s already blessed.” (parenthesis mine)

Bono candidly shared that he, like all of us, had taken a God of ultimate and blessed function; and reduced him to being a God that is utilized merely to bless forms. Consider this in your own life; what is the purpose: the form or the function? Can you articulate the function, is it what drives you to get up every morning, fuels every personal conversation, laces everything you put your hands to? Or does the form fill that role? Sometimes we become the form ourselves. Consider the classic song entitled “Asleep in the Light” by the late Keith Green. His words still permeate today: “Bless me Lord! Bless me Lord! You know it’s all I (God) ever hear, but no one hurts no one aches, no one even sheds one tear.” It is a classic example of us becoming the ultimate form instead of us embracing ultimate function.

If form is what drives us as Christians will make little inroads now and then in society, because one of the myriad of byproducts of the principals of the Biblical Worldview is that it will radically improve your personal state of being. That is moderately infectious. But lots of religions claim to offer that. Or more importantly, lots of religions are designed to offer that. But if ultimate function is what drives you, you can revolutionize the world, because God’s function transcends the personal state of being. Reconciliation is not just for the emotions, it is for everything He created. And this is what He offers in His word. To see it you have to look past form. You’ll find form in the Bible, because God is a God of love. You’ll find it so much that you can be content with it. You can actually be content with it your whole life. But push past. Find function. Saturate in function. Through function the Bible will unfold like giant picture book, in vivid tangible dimensional brilliance. Form seeks to flatten out the pages. Metaphorically, it’s still a picture book. But how much less inspiring, how much less invigorating. How much less transforming.

God’s function is designed to revolutionize man’s forms. It makes sense. It gives Him all the glory. That what the Bible says, He gets the glory. Think about it. He doesn’t get the glory when we ask him to bless our forms. We do. We may give him credit, even give him “props” at award ceremonies, but He doesn’t get the glory. He is relegated too often to being merely a form blesser. But that’s just how loving this Creator is; he continues to bless our forms anyway. And yet He calls, and keeps calling, “embrace My function.”

“The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 NASB

Jesus Christ was ultimate function, embodied in form. Jesus Christ used form to teach ultimate function. Jesus Christ allowed his form to be crushed and bruised, to usher in ultimate function. And the call is to be like Christ. Embrace ultimate function and form will follow. But form will no longer be the objective. It won’t need to be. You won’t want it to be. And amazingly, everything you thought you could achieve from forms, that forms cannot provide, is liberally bestowed on you as you embrace function. I’ll end with the words of the One who gave the ultimate clarity on function over form.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 NASB