In Everything

Ephesians 4:6

New International Version (NIV)

[There is] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

Once upon a time, my little sister read a book called The Shack by William Young. I hear it is a very controversial book; some people love it and others think it's heresy, whatever that means. Personally, I haven't read it, but I know that it is possible to get some good insight out of it (whether the book itself is good or not) based on the conversation I had with my sister after she read it.

I'm not quite sure how the conversation came up. She was probably listing her favorite parts of the book or something like that, but either way, she ended up explaining something to me. She said, "Some people think that their life is like a pyramid of priorities and that God should be at the top." Of course, at this point, I was definitely one of those people. I nodded my head vigorously, and told her that's how it should be. God should be the most important thing in our lives, and then probably family, followed by school, friends, and so on and so forth. My sister was very patient with me as I said this, but she told me she wanted to show me a passage from The Shack for a moment. The following is what she showed me:

“Mack, I don’t want to be first among a list of values; I want to be at the center of everything. When I live in you, then together we can live through everything that happens to you. Rather than a pyramid, I want to be the center of a mobile where everything in your life — friends, family, occupation, thoughts, activities — is connected to Me but moves with the wind, in and out, back and forth, in an incredible dance of being.” “And I,” concluded Sarayu, “I am the Wind.”

In this passage, Mack is the main character, Sarayu is the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is the one speaking.  In short, my little sister had just schooled me. She's right. God doesn't want us to prioritize our lives with God first, then family, then friends, and so on, as if God is kept separate from family and friends and such. Rather, he wants to be in it all. He should be in our friendships, our occupations, our thoughts -- He shouldn't be kept separate and above it all, but involved in everything.

For this reason, the word "secular" can become obsolete. Think about it; we use the word to distinguish the religious aspects of our lives from our nonreligious aspects, but God calls us to involve Him in EVERY aspect of our lives. Does that mean we should only hang out with Christians, listen to only Christian music, watch Christian movies, read nothing but Christian books, and only wear "church clothes?" Actually, I think it means the exact opposite. I think we need to learn how to see God in the secular music as well as the Christian music. We should notice the emotions and complexities that are in secular movies and books that God has given humans. We should look for the good that God has placed in the hearts of people, even if they aren't Christian. God created the world and everything in it; thus, even secular things have characteristics of God showing through them.

When you involve God in every situation and circumstance in your life, God can help you through your times of sadness and laugh with you through your times of joy. It really is a wonderful exercises to not only involve Him in all that you do, but strive to see Him in everything around you. When you live your life with Christ, involving Him in all that you do, your life changes drastically. Your life can go from being centered around your priorities, to being centered around Your Lord and Savior.

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