Oliver points to Christ as ‘the still point of the turning world’ at fall convocation

JACKSON, Tenn. — Jesus Christ is more valuable than anything else in the world and must remain the center of everything Union University does, Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said Aug. 21.

“The Lord Jesus Christ is our hope and our salvation,” Oliver said. “He is the firm foundation upon which this great institution is built.”

Oliver addressed the university community at fall convocation, held this year in Fred DeLay Gymnasium while a new chapel building is under construction. His address, entitled “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” continued a multiyear series of convocation messages walking through the articles of Union’s Statement of Faith.

This year Oliver turned to the third article, which addresses the person and work of Christ. The article states that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the eternal Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He perfectly revealed and did God’s will, taking upon himself human nature yet without sin.

Jesus honored the divine law by his personal obedience, the article continues, and by his substitutionary death on the cross he made provision for redemption from sin. He was buried, rose again on the third day and ascended to the Father, at whose right hand he lives to intercede for his people.

The article concludes by describing Jesus as the only mediator, the prophet, priest and king of the church and the sovereign of the universe.

Union’s theme verse for the year, John 1:14, reflects that same focus on Christ: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

“I want to be clear, a convocation address cannot plumb the depths of the doctrine of Jesus,” Oliver said. “Frankly, neither can a year of our focused attention. Even still, I trust it can help us know Jesus better.”

Oliver reflected on a phrase he encountered on a recent trip to Ireland that a tour guide used to describe Kylemore Abbey: “the still point of the turning world.” Used by T.S. Eliot in his poem “Burnt Nation,” that phrase articulated what Mitchell Henry, who built the estate for his wife and family, had in mind as his desire for the home, the guide explained – “a place where the hustle and hurry of the world dissipates and there is quiet and stillness,” Oliver said.

He added that the phrase points to Christ, who holds all things together regardless of how chaotic or fast-moving life becomes.

“Ultimately, the still point of the turning world is not a place,” Oliver said. “It is a person — and his name is Jesus.”

Oliver cited C.S. Lewis’ argument in “Mere Christianity” that Jesus cannot rightly be received merely as a great moral teacher, given the claims he made about himself.

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher,” Oliver said, quoting Lewis. “He would be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the devil of hell. … You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon. Or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.”

Turning to Matthew 16, Oliver focused on the question Jesus put to his disciples at Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am?” Unlike the countless ordinary questions people face day to day, Oliver said, this is the question every person must ultimately answer for themselves.

“He doesn’t ask, ‘Who do your friends think I am? Who do your parents think I am? Who do your professors think I am?’” Oliver said. “Instead, he poses an intensely personal question: ‘Who do you say I am?’”

Oliver called on the Union community to make Christ the master of their lives.

“There is not room on the throne of your life for more than one,” he said. “I beg you to make Christ your master, and to seek him every day for the rest of your lives, because the real Jesus died on a real cross for the real you, and if you give him your life, he can make a real difference forever.”

Oliver closed the address by returning to the George Beverly Shea hymn that gave the address its title.

“As for me, I’d rather have Jesus than anything the world affords,” he said.

Watch the full address.