Devotional from 2018 Christian Union National Fast
by matt bennett, founder and president of christian union
"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation." - 1 Peter 2:1-2 (ESV)
As can be seen, “1 Peter 2:1, 2” is inscribed at the bottom of its original seal (the seal above is the original seal except for the change of the name from “King’s College” to “Columbia”). The University is represented by a woman with children at her feet, with the purpose, according to 1 Peter, of nourishing her pupils with spiritual milk so that they may grow up into salvation. She directs them to a book with the Greek letters LOGIA ZONTA, “living oracles”, the description given by Stephen to the Scriptures in Acts 7:38.
Columbia was affiliated with the Anglican Church from the beginning with the charter stipulating that the president “shall forever hereafter be a member of, and in communion with the Church of England.” But regarding students, the Trustees were not “to exclude any person of any religious denomination” from the college.
The original royal charter, granted by George the Second, placed a great deal of importance on Christian devotion on the campus. The charter states:
We do further will, ordain, and direct, that there shall be forever hereafter publick morning and evening service constantly performed in the said College, morning and evening forever, by the President, Fellows, Professors, or Tutors, of the said College, or one of them, according to the Liturgy of the Church of England … or such a collection of prayers out of the said Liturgy, with a collect peculiar for the said College, as shall be approved of from time to time by the Governors of the said College.
Like so many educational institutions in the nation’s history, Columbia University was founded to educate its students in Christian wisdom for the greater benefit of society. Colossians 2:3 declares that in Jesus Christ Himself, “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Over the centuries, the university followed the trend toward secularization, distancing itself from its faith-filled roots. It severed the intimate link between acquiring knowledge and developing true wisdom.
Any educational institution which does not center its learning on God Himself is deficient and incomplete, because all knowledge flows from Him.
Please join Christian Union in praying for the educational institutions of the United States:
- That they would honor Jesus Christ in every way.
- That administrators and leaders in them would come to know that in Jesus Christ is all wisdom and knowledge.
- That students attending them would long for spiritual milk and would find salvation and sanctification through Christ.
