Worldview Matters… Absolute Truth #1

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God Is and Created ALL That Exists… and It Was Good

 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… and God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:1, 27, 31)

 

In yesterday’s blog, I introduced this topic of Seven Absolute Truths to remind us of the why and how of our faith, and thus, the significance of Christmas. May these truths invigorate your heart and soul as you prepare for this celebration time, and may you be able to take these truths and impress them upon the hearts and minds of your grandchildren. Help them see the great miracle and joy of God’s grace expressed through the gift of His Son, Jesus.

TRUTH #1: Paganism (also known as relativism and universalism) is the prevailing religious view of the post-modern culture. This worldview essentially says that it doesn’t matter what you believe. Every person’s religious beliefs have value and should be respected and accepted as equally valid. Whether you believe in a “God”, or in many gods, or in no gods makes no difference. It is only important that you believe and that others respect your belief. This worldview claims to be “tolerant”, until they smash into the reality of absolute truth.

Absolute truth is rooted in the reality that there is one God and that He is the Creator of all things. This poses a problem for paganism (relativism). If there is a God who is Creator of ALL that exists, I do not have the luxury of believing what I want to believe about Him and the world He has created. I am forced to either choose to believe what is true about the Creator and the creation, or to ignore it and believe whatever I want to believe, and face the consequences of that choice.

Of all that God has created, His crown jewel is man (male and female), each created with individual uniqueness, confirmed through fingerprints and DNA. Yet, the uniqueness God created in each of us is much more than physical factors. There can be no doubt of a vital link between Creator and creation. That link is no more apparent than in the distinctive, divine imprint of the Imago Dei that leads us to uniquely think, love, feel, learn, experience, create and express. Our distinction from the rest of creation is an expression of His deep love and special plan for us. There is no one else like you, and everything He made, He made for you.

A product of chance?  Not a chance!

Truth is truth no matter what I choose to believe. And the truth is that GOD is and has created all that is, including you and me. As Creator, we are subject to Him and His laws as His creation, not the other way around. We do not set the rules – He does!  Because He has revealed Himself to us through His creation and His Word as gracious, loving and merciful, we can be confident that His rules are for our best. This truth is the foundation for all that follows. If it is missing or distorted, all else will crumble.

TEACHING AND TELLING

Our grandchildren should have the opportunity to grasp the significance of this first universal truth. It is foundational to all the other truths that will follow in our discussion. The wonderful thing about young children is that they often have a much better understanding of reality as it pertains to God and creation than teens or adults.  However, their ability to see the wonders of God’s creation, both in the world around us and the marvelous design of man, need to be constantly cultivated by our encouragement to look, investigate and explore the evidence that is all around them.  Lead them into adventures of wonder and amazement at all that God has made and done.

GRANDPAUSE: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”  Ps. 95:6-7

Worldview Matters… So How Do We Shape Young Lives to Know What’s True?

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“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ.”  Colossians 2:8

Children, like clay, are easily molded, shaped and impressed when they very young. If you’ve worked with clay, you know the longer clay is exposed to the air, the more difficult it is to mold. Once it has been hardened by time and heat, it does not easily allow for shaping or making impressions.

This explains why most decisions for Christ occur before age twenty-one. It ought to be a sobering reminder to us as grandparents (and parents) to take seriously our responsibility to teach and tell the Gospel story early on so the impressions of truth are firmly imprinted on their souls.

If we are not diligent in impressing their hearts, minds, and souls, the world certainly will be. If the biblical worldview built upon absolute truth as reality is not impressed upon our grandchildren by our lives and words, that generation is likely to fall captive to hollow, deceptive philosophies leading to but one destination – eternal destruction.

Worldview is about how we see reality. It is what we believe about God, ourselves and the world around us. It determines the choices we make in life. The biblical story of reality is the only story that adequately addresses all the questions of life and the problems of our world.

Over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, I thought it might be good to review Seven Absolute Truths that are foundational to a biblical worldview which stands in contrast to other prevailing worldviews. Without the biblical Story of reality, Christmas is irrelevant and meaningless. It is this Story that truly set us free to live the life we were meant to live and celebrate the One who came as God in the flesh to make all things new.

Grandparents, if we do not grasp and live out the Story, how are we to teach and model these truths for our grandchildren? You have the power to show them the truth through the lens of God’s Word and your life hidden in Christ so they may also walk in it.

As you review these truths for yourself, examine your own heart to be sure you have not wandered from the essential foundations and realities concerning God, His creation, the condition of man, His redemption and His purposes for our lives. To wander from any of these absolutes is to make the Story irrelevant in the eyes of another generation.

Remember, too, that while our worldview matters, the reality is that regardless of what we say our worldview is, it is how we live it that will be heard and will impact the worldview of the next generation. Tomorrow, we will visit Absolute Truth #1…

God Is and Created ALL That Exists… and It Was Good

How to Live with the Uncertainty of a Prodigal

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I don’t do well with uncertainty. I like clear expectations, definitive answers to my questions, and specific guidance for next steps – whether from my family, friends, employer, or even from God…maybe ESPECIALLY from God.

Over the past two decades, I have had to learn to live with uncertainty and shattered dreams in more than one arena. The most challenging was praying for adult loved ones who have either yet to come to faith in Jesus Christ or who have walked away from following Him. And yet I have come to a place in life where – most of the time – I have a sense of peace and not anxiousness when I think about my 90-year old father who clings tenaciously to the agnostic label or adult children/grandchildren who are trusting in their own wisdom and abilities as they make life choices.

To some this “inner peace” may be misconstrued as surrender, hopelessness, weariness, or lethargy. But others have asked how I found this peaceful contentment amid uncertainty and apparent unanswered prayers. Here are a few pointers that have helped me:

  1. Expand your long-distance vision. I no longer wake up each day fully expecting that “today” will bring all the answers (or miracles) I seek. I still believe that God is at work, often behind the scenes where my vision is limited. I go about my day with a focus on my own responsibilities for this 24 hours, leaving tomorrow, next week, and next month in God’s hands and off my worry list. I try not to fret over what I see in their lives today and to allow them and God to “work out” their faith in their own personalized timelines, knowing He loves them more than I do. I remind myself that spiritual birth and growth take longer for some and they are in Good Hands!
  2. Expand your grateful heart. I try to look for small things in each one for which I can be thankful. I thank God and, when possible, also mention it to them in the form of encouragement or affirmation (i.e., “blessings”). This may be verbal (in person, by phone or computer), a written note, or by brief text. If I pay more attention to what’s missing than what is present in their lives, they feel my disappointment or sadness regardless of my attempts not to communicate that. Striving to be watchful and attentive to small kindnesses shown, efforts to improve relationships, or positive decisions requires conscious effort and energy from me – energy better expended than in fretting or worry. A grateful heart makes waiting for answers more endurable.
  3. Expand your own faith walk. The supernatural “peace that is beyond human understanding” is a gift from God. It comes with a closer personally intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The more time I spend with Him and the better I get to know Him, the greater my trust in His beneficence and good plans (for me as well as for the ones I love so much). This makes it easier to confidently place my burdens, worries, and fears in God’s care. Of course, I sometimes take them back onto my own shoulders but, finding them too heavy, I will release them to His responsibility once more. The ultimate outcome of the lives of loved ones is far too great a burden for any of us to carry. It will crush us if we insist on carrying it ourselves. One of the best means of transferring this heavy weight is through prayer—praying alone, praying with my spouse, and praying with others who share similar concerns. Prayer is healing for those who pray as well as those for whom we intercede.

I still do not enjoy uncertainty in any areas of my life. But I am growing in daily peaceful contentment with imperfect circumstances and patience with today’s unanswered prayers as I wait with expanded thankfulness for God’s timing in the lives of those I love.

Bev and her husband, Olin, are Ministry Partners of CGN. They lead our Courageous Grandparenting Seminars as requested. Bev serves as Director of Care Ministries at Lake Free Church in Lindstrom, MN. She and Olin have nine children and ten grandchildren.