Free The Believers Relation To Life And God Essay Example

The Puritans, who are known to extreme separatists, made a great shift in the Christianity’s history. Being not fully satisfied with the results of the reformation in the Church of England, this group of devout Christian men and women endeavored to completely do away with the heresies of Roman Catholicism. These Puritans are also deemed great writers of various forms of literature, whereby their culture and belief are also presented. In her work, Verses upon the Burning of our House, Puritan Anne Bradstreet contemplates on the sovereignty of God in all things, the view on and response of man to God and life, and the hope each believer has through the Gospel of Christ. The succeeding part of this paper discusses her story.
She begins her story with her lack of anticipation of the danger which lies ahead. Her statement “for sorrow near I did not look” implies that most of the things in man’s life – particularly problems – often happen unexpectedly. However, whatever event there may be around the believer, God knows and is in control of it. It is just like the story of Job, wherein he never knew that something is happening in heaven, but God knows. The next thing Bradstreet portrayed is the appropriate response of the believer towards circumstances – whether good or bad. She did not look at the present distress, but rather looked to God in the midst of distress. Affliction and great difficulties were present in the lives of all the Puritans. However, living out their faith in God, they relied confidently on God’s strength for support and not on human devices. Moreover, Bradstreet, right after the fire consumed their house, said: “I bless His name that gave and took”. Such is the evidence of true faith and faith in God. Instead of complaining and being discouraged on life problems, the Puritans – like the apostles of Christ – even praised God for it. It is not praising God only when the difficulty is already over, but it is thanking God for the difficulty itself. This attitude of the Puritans is grounded in their acknowledgement that – as one verse in the Bible explains – all things came from God, through God, and are meant for God. A true believer knows that only God has the rightful claim over everything he and everyone else have in this life. In her seemingly sorry plight, Bradstreet could have complained. Instead of getting bitter, she expressed, “But yet sufficient for us left.” As the Puritans attested in their lives, the believer of God can hold on to this truth: he might be losing many things in life, yet he still has God with him. Bradstreet implies that a Christian must treasure the Giver and not the gifts. Even in the midst of difficult situations in life, the Christian – knowing that God is sovereign – should always respond in complete humility, trust, and submission to God.
In addition, Bradstreet portrays the nature of life and man’s relation to it through her story. She states, “My pleasant things in ashes lie,” and adds, “Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.” The Puritans – travelling great distances and leaving home – were willing to lose things, even at the expense of their conveniences. They acknowledged that human life is empty in itself, no matter how pleasant – as Bradstreet puts it – it may be. She even talks about the “mouldering sand” and the “arm of flesh”. These two depicts weakness and brevity of life. This is seen in the cultural lives of the Puritans. In whatever community they belong to, they served God. This is the right view and relation of man with the fatality of life. Seeing that there is not much time left for him, the believer gets most of this time here on earth by serving God.
Furthermore, it is interesting to note that Bradstreet expressed any man’s tendency to be blind of reality. She states, “Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide”. She begins to question and reprove herself, understanding that she is depriving herself of the truth. This honors the necessity of self-examination for every believer. This is when the Christian views things in light of the Scriptures. As seen in their excellent lives and works of ministry, the Puritans were filled with the knowledge of the Bible. The external spiritual excellence of these Puritans is mere reflection of their private devotion to God through His Word, and this also applies to every Christian. After reproving her heart, Bradstreet looked at the hope which is in God. This implies that the only effective cure to anxiety is to fix one’s eye to God. Similar to the apostles’ writings, the Puritans expressed their hope in God during great trials. While God is the center of this hope, the Christian also looks forward for the far greater things God has prepared for the faithful and persevering saints. Bradstreet points to God who is the “mighty Architect” and His prepared work which “stands permanent”. She knows that, in contrast to the futility of this life, everything in heaven will be perfect and permanent. She lost her earthly house, yet she has the hope of the heavenly house which cannot be destroyed by anything. This heavenly mindset is reflected in the lives of the Puritans. In the end, Bradstreet meditates on the Gospel. She points to “Him who hath enough to do”, and reflects on the truth of Christ’s finished work – which provided her the said hope. There is this centrality of the Gospel in the life of the Puritans. Otherwise, their faith is without basis. Moreover, she meditates on the fact that God sufficiently provides everything necessary for a Christian’s life – both here and in eternity. She puts it, “There’s wealth enough, I need no more.” She ends her story with a thanksgiving that, with her realization, she was not drawn into the world but made nearer and more intimate to God – which was fulfilled in the life of the Puritans, as it is the will of God for every true believer.