What Is Real?

I am always amazed when I realize just how much I am affected by life’s circumstances.

How are things going at my church? If I perceive they’re going well, I’m feeling happy. If I perceive they’re going poorly, I feel discouraged.

How are things going with my family? If I perceive we’re doing well, I feel happy. If I perceive we are struggling, I feel discouraged.

How are things going with my finances? If I perceive we’re making it, I feel happy. If I perceive we are in need, I feel discouraged.

How are people perceiving me? If it seems they like me, I feel happy. If it seems they don’t get me, I feel discouraged.

And on and on it goes.

The problem is, I don’t think you or I see things as they really are. If one little thing goes right in life or goes wrong in life, what a dramatic effect it has on us! Our perception on how things are going is so easily influenced. This is why it is so important to have a relationship with Jesus. I’ve been reading the book of Colossians lately, and what strikes me from that book is the truth that everything in life ought to be about Him.

A life that is centered around Jesus is a life built on the “rock,” according to Jesus’ own teaching. Consider the analogy Jesus makes and contrast it to how I started this blog post:

How are things going at my church, with my family, with my finances, with my relationships…? If my life is built on the “rock,” it doesn’t matter if the rain is pouring and the wind is blowing, or if it’s a calm, sunny day. The structure of the house remains unchanged. But if it is built on sand, that is another story. The house is greatly affected by external conditions. Of course, as we’ve seen in Alabama recently, tornadoes can destroy homes built on rock or sand. There is indeed something to be said about how a house is built, even if it is built on the rock, which is why discipleship matters. But clearly, a house built on a poor foundation has no hope whatsoever, no matter how well-constructed that house is.

This may sound too much “Christian Sciencey,” but I think it may be helpful to consider this earthly life less real than it appears to be. Isn’t it often true that things that seem to affect us so positively or negatively at one point in time turn out to be less material than we thought they were once they pass? This universe is merely an idea in the mind of God, spoken by Him into reality. There is a reality far more real than what we experience day-to-day in this life. That reality is centered in Jesus. It isn’t centered in some mystical force or spiritual/religious fantasy. It’s not just something in our heads or in our hearts. Jesus is a real person, and according to Colossians, everything revolves around Him.

I have a feeling that a life based completely in Him means that things that normally make other people elated or depressed will not have such a strong pull on our emotions. Rather, our emotional well-being will be based on our relationship with Him. Out of all of the things we could choose to grasp tightly to, I want to hold on to something that is real–not something that is changing.

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. –Luke 10:19-20

Dear Jesus, help me to trust in you and not in what is going on around me. Walking by faith sometimes seems so easy and other times so hard. Allow me to hold your hand, even when I think I should be strong enough to handle life on my own. May I so attach my life to you that my identity remains untouched by anything else, whether positive or negative. You are my rock.

Rockin’ encouragement from the 80’s!