What is Your Worldview?

 

I remember sitting in a class at Furman University in the mid-’70s when a professor asked the question, “What is your worldview?” I honestly didn’t know what he was talking about but began to realize that I did not have a worldview--only a very small, self-centered, short-term, and local view of life. (i.e. Headline: "Godzilla Destroys Japan--Economy Devastated!" Me: "I hope Yamato over in Harbison doesn't close down.") 

It is estimated that 3,000 years ago the world population was only about 50,000,000. Today there are about 8,000,000,000.  Yet, people in the Bible days could still have a worldview bigger than most of us today. There are196,900,000 square miles on this planet, but one's worldview is not measured in square miles or numbers of people or nations on the earth.  The whole world seemed huge to people whose only mode of transportation was 4-legged. Today our entire planet can be circumnavigated in a day or two. Two people can carry on a normal conversation from opposite sides of the planet. A worldview is defined as a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world. What is your conception of the world? Having a worldview involves trying to answer the question, "Why am I here in this world?  What is my purpose?"  

There was an incredible Christian singer/songwriter named Luke Garrett who died at the age of 57 in 2016.  He wrote a beautiful song called "As If I Were the Only One to Love" in 1987. Here are some of the lyrics:

Sunlight, moonglow, bright stars
God, my God, what an artist You are
The sky, the earth, the sea
How could You notice me?

Father, I am too small
To be seen on your canvas at all
An incidental speck
A grain of dust, and yet

You love me, You love me
As if I were the only one to love

The real question is not IF you have a world view, because everyone has a conception of the world, but the question is, "How do I see myself in my concept of the world?" If I am a seeker after truth, then I want to see myself as the Creator of the world sees me.  That desire prompts the question, "So, how do I fit into this picture called life?" If I could only see everything from the Creator's perspective, then my worldview would be a truthful one.

How do we see from God’s perspective?  To start with, God is Spirit, so we must have a spiritual life.  Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be "born again."  Nic thought Jesus meant physically, but Jesus clarified that notion and said in John 3:6 "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."  We need to learn to see with “Holy Spirit eyes.” That begins to happen when we totally surrender our lives to the Messiah, Jesus.  The Apostle Paul said it is like dying to self every day and letting Jesus be Himself inside our hearts and minds.  

As created beings, a Spirit-filled Believer's worldview will not be based on how big the world is, but on how small we are in it--yet still having a purpose and a role to play in this short time-stretch we call life. 



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