What’s Your Worldview?

December 31, 2021

Amazing Grace:

Meditations on God’s Smile of Affection for You

What’s Your Worldview?

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Romans 12:2

All our thoughts, words, actions, and emotions have their origin in our unique and individual worldview. Whether we are an introvert or extravert, are analytical or more intuitive, whether we are prone to fight or flight, prefer to read, or listen, to see or to do is a matter of our worldview.

Our worldview is the basis of all our interactions with other people and our culture, as well as the basis of our own self-awareness. If we were a computer, our worldview would be our operating system. Our OS is constructed in part by genetics and in part by our cultural experiences. While genetics form the foundation for the way we interact with our world, our cultural experiences can significantly enhance or diminish our natural tendencies.

As followers of Christ, we live between two realities. One reality is our natural life, our worldview which has been fractured by sin. The other reality is our new life in Christ: “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our human nature drives us to meet our needs for love, acceptance and self-worth through our own strength and abilities. Against this exercise of self-effort, Jesus calls out to us, “Friends, let me show you a better way to live.” Life betwixt and between these two realities can be exhausting, which is one reason the Apostle Paul challenged us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b NRSV).

Over and against the truth of who I am in Christ, which for me is characterized by a great optimistic hope for life together in the Kingdom of God, my fractured human reality causes me to suffer with cascading negative thoughts about my own life within the Kingdom. Together with the Apostle Paul, I call out to God, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24b). And, together with Paul, I celebrate the answer to my question, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25a).

It is true that we are transformed by renewing our minds, by learning to know ourselves the way God knows us. Learning to live this new way of life in Christ (Romans 7:6) can be a struggle, but we are reminded by Jesus that “he will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle” (Matthew 12:20). However, neither will he lower the bar. He is determined that we will learn to live just like he did, as the beloved child of God, with whom God is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

My Takeaway: The affirmations in the four previous meditations are expressions of the truth of God’s love and acceptance of each of us. Fixing your mind on these great truths of God will lead you to a very wonderful place, that place where you rest in God’s smile of affection for you. I feel spiritually prepared to face the New Year tomorrow; how about you?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.