What is the Source of Your Understanding about the world around you?

Most of us get up every day with a set of pre-formed thoughts about how life should happen.  These expectation and our views of how our life are usually formed by what we have already seen and have experienced in our life.  This might be a good template for understanding life but it may not be as well.  Most of us are very comfortable with our own perspective and believe almost by default that it is the right one. We do not often challenge these internal assumptions unless we have a “life-altering” experience.  This might be a divorce, a job loss or a significant medical challenge. 

Let us stop and dig a little deeper.  What if you had grown up in a different country than ours, you might have a different understanding of how your life might turn out.  If we grew up on a rural farm, would you have a different set of life references than if you grew up in a crowded, large urban city?  If you were raised by parents or a parent who did not teach you to examine your life experiences or your beliefs you might not even stop to think why you think the way you do.  Your parents may have followed a script in raising you that was given to them by the people who raised them and on and on. 

The point is most of us become “locked” into a set of expectations and values very early in our life.  We like to think these thoughts change a great deal with experience or increased knowledge but we often do not stop and examine where our worldview or even came from.

Have you ever wondered how the world was established and designed (both seen and unseen)? 

To make it more personal are you and I willing to ask ourselves a few hard questions:

1)      Is the model I am using now to filter the events in my life the right one?

 2)      Even if I am comfortable in my present frame of reference, is there a better one?

Our answers to these questions are very important.  I would argue they will set us up to have peace or turmoil regardless of what happens in our life.  As we talked about last time.  If God established the world then, I would like to offer to you that we explore biblically to see what God says about how all life works.  I realize not everyone will believe that God created the universe, but it is still worth exploring.  If you do believe he created things, then we must begin to use his reference not ours.

Romans 1:19-22 - For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Therefore, they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools. 

Therefore, it seems like without a true God frame of reference for our world – we are operating in the futility of man’s limited knowledge or understanding. 

Let yourself ponder how much we have built our world on God’s understanding and HIS plan or if we built on our understanding.

Creation/nature (the seen world) is to provide us an introduction into how God designed things (even in the unseen realm).  The natural world all around us – is to cause us to embrace something unseen.  We are to be curious of the world in nature because it will lead us to greater truth. 

I grew up on a farm during my childhood, so I was exposed, more than I wanted to be, to an understanding of how nature functions and the changes that happen with the seasons of the year.  It was our livelihood – so we needed to grasp some of this.  Let me share a few examples of the principles of nature.

How does nature show us God’s kingdom?  Here are a few:

1)      Diversity – have you ever thought about how diverse nature is all around us?  More than 22,000 types of birds, more than 60,000 types of trees.  On a clear night, we can see the stars.  There are over 100 billion different stars in our universe – each one different.  You and I, in fact all of us, have unique DNA’s.  We were created to be different not the same.  There is great pressure in our broken world to insist on each of us being and thinking the same – this has never been God’s plan.  Stop and learn to see and enjoy the diversity he gave to us.  Being different is not only ok it is the perfect plan of God.

2)      Seeds/multiplication – plants and animals reproduce from their own seed, through this process they multiply, grow, and replenish their kind.  This is embedded in every living thing – animals, plants and even humans.  God placed seed inside each.  I often tell the story about corn.  One seed in the ground can turn into two ears of corn on each stock – on each ear is 22 rows of corn with 24 seeds on each row.  Therefore, if you examine it one seed reproduces into about 1,050 or more seeds.  So the question is which of us taught the corn to do this?  Not me – I was not even aware but it still happened. Genesis 1:11 - And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so.  He created the system of regeneration of life.

I am convinced God built into nature all the systems we need if we would only recognize and embrace them.  Since he is the creator, it is likely he built a method of sustaining it.  Good things multiply but so do the bad.  We probably do not need a great deal of help to understand how quickly disease multiplies given how quickly COVID19 spread around the world.  This is why he has asked us to be aware, to be on guard and to make sure those things that are harmful to us are removed from our lives. 

 3)      Interconnectedness – God’s ecosystem is interconnected.  Often when I am home in the morning, I sit on my back deck and watch the marsh ecosystems.  There are thousands of different systems all dependent on each other.  Insects are dependent on plants for nourishment.  One can look at the marsh and see all the complexity and dependency of life in a small way.  This is true in the ocean as well without our help.  All of life has a pattern set in place to be in balance.  One of the most serious diseases we have all fallen victim to is the belief we are alone or my actions do not affect others – both positive and negative.  We were created to be interconnected.  We actually need one another to stay healthy.

  4)      Importance and preeminence of light – photosynthesis is triggered by light as we learned in grade school.  Light is a basic substance, which causes life and growth to happen. This is why farmers or nurseries use greenhouses (with concentrated light) to incubate young immature plants before planting them in a field or a yard.  We use light for newborn babies in nurseries in hospitals as well.   Did you know you need light to survive and thrive as well?  We read in Isaiah 60:1-3 - Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  In Luke 4:18 Jesus proclaimed when he started his ministry here on earth - "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.  He is showing us how spiritual revelation light comes into our inner man to begin our spiritual growth.  It is what sustains us and leads us into greater truth and peace, joy and inner identity.  We all need His light – without it, we will create something aberrant.

Light is more powerful than darkness.  Sometimes I need this reminder.  John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

 5)      The moon and the sun – This is a slightly weird one.  One morning in study, I had a question come into my thoughts.  Why does the Jewish day start in the evening?  I said I am not sure I assume it is some religious tradition from long ago.  He said go to Genesis 1:5.  “The first day was evening and day.  There it was it was. It was not Jewish alone – it was God’s design.  I began to ponder some of the implications –

 a.       If the moon is the center of what God is doing here on earth then why?  The moon is a reflective body not a source body.  It needs light.  The sun is a source body.

b.       Nature and seasons revolve around the moon and its changes – waxing and waning.

c.       If we start each day with rest in the evening rather than toil in the morning then maybe striving alone is not our way of success.

d.       We are to reflect God’s light not create it.  When we start with the wrong system it is dependent on us not him.

e.       Let us look at a passage we may have all heard at the end of a church service. Numbers 6:22 – 26 – “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.  When we think about this verse now in the context of God’s ecosystem organized around the reflective body (you and I) does it make more sense?

 6)      Plain to see - Romans 1:20 – “for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.  We are to perceive thought the visible into the invisible.  He is asking us - We have eyes but can we see?  Mark 8:18 “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?”  Jesus was challenging his followers.  It was not that they could not see, clearly they could in the natural.  However, they could not perceive his supernatural kingdom.

 7)      Transformation is required to participate fully - Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  This is clear – something must change in us (our minds) if we are going to be a successful participant in God’s kingdom.  We need his light to bring forth true light in us and others.

 8)      The world desperately needs an infection of light.  Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.  When we do not see correctly, it infects our whole body.  Luke 11:34-35 - Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

 Our charge is to reflect his light not fight with the darkness.  When we carry what is true, it will cause others to come to the light.  Their hope will come alive.

We are to be curious.  Why? 

Proverbs 25:2 - It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. 

Colossians 2:2-4 - that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

Colossians 1:27 - To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

We are a part of a much bigger ecosystem – physical and spiritual that has a Creator.  His design is incredible and fully capable of accomplishing the mission of restoration.  If I release myself from the toil of my limited strength and my understanding and become a “discoverer/explorer” my life focus shifts.  I need to learn to cooperate with him and his designs not just do what I think or see according to my limited understanding.  He is asking us to draw closer to him in true, unfettered intimacy so we can see and participate in the glory of his creation not just in nature but also in other people.

Join the journey.  Stopping fighting for your ideas and discover His ways.

Please share with us your thoughts in the comments section below. We hope this helps you discover your assignment and how your journey can help others. Come join us at thefamilycollective.co. Thank you.