God-centered life

up:: Faith MOC

“Mack, I don’t want to be first among a list of values; I want to be at the center of everything. […]

Rather than a pyramid, I want to be the center of a mobile, where everything in your life—your friends, family, occupation, thoughts, activities—is connected to me […].” –The Shack (p.207)

Lists of priorities are a form of split thinking

Making a list of priorities about what matters most to us in life seems like a smart thing to do. An issue we often run into though is that this can present a form of Split Thinking, ie. compartmentalization. My first priority is God, next comes my marriage, then my health third, etc. But this begs the question, “How much is enough?” When did I fulfill my “God quota”? When can I “move on” from the God part of my day and start worrying about my wife?

Quiet Time is not enough

It sounds absurd when I put it like this but I certainly fall into this trap sometimes. Of course all of my decisions affect my wife. Even more, living with Jesus isn’t about checking the “Time with God”-box in the morning and then moving on. Life with Jesus is always abiding in the vine (4). Through my whole day. In everything.

God at the center of my life

As the sun is central to the solar system and shines into everything, so I want God to be the center of my life. I want him to shine into everything, every interest, every relationship, every academic curiosity. Every thing I do needs to be influenced by God, the center of my life.

Just as Jesus did nothing on his own (28) I want every area of my life to point to him.

A way of doing this is the practice of Connected Biblical Thinking.