By Anthony:
This post might seem a little silly when you start reading what I am proposing. But if you take it seriously, it can actually be very helpful. I can't make any promises that it will help you, but I can say this little mental exercise has worked well for me. (I am totally open to criticisms about it too!)
Back in high school, someone told me he sometimes imagines that he is the only person that truly exists, and everyone else in the world is placed there by God to interact with his life even though they aren't real. So if you try this, you are to imagine that God created the world just for you, and that he died just for you, and that he is watching just you as live through life, make decisions, and go through the process of sanctification. While you are distracted and comparing yourself to other people saying, "at least I'm doing better then them," in this exercise it's just you, and God and all his angels are watching you, seeing what you will make of this life he has given you. If you really do this, it's rather intimidating.
Obviously this is not true and there are ethical dilemmas in imagining a God who would do this. But if you stop and just imagine it, what happens is you imagine God's entire focus being solely on you and every little thing you have done in your life and every day. It surely causes you to reevaluate just about everything in your life. If you've been indulging in secret addictive sins, or wasting much time, this little mental exercise can snap you back into reality.
When I have forced myself to think this through, it has produced profound feelings of God looking right through me, knowing my every thought. It produced profound feelings of regret and guilt thinking of God being displeased when I've done wrong, because his whole focus is on me! It can even produce great joy thinking of God taking delight that we have confessed our sins and trusted in Jesus' dying for us, and God taking delight in that we enjoy fellowship with him.
The point is that after the exercise, when you remind yourself that this is just imagination and not true, and everyone else actually exists, and the whole world doesn't revolve around you, and God is looking at everyone and not only you, even then you realize the very true and powerful theological point. The point is that God is big enough to still completely focus on you while he completely focuses on everyone else as well. God is that big. He knows about everything that everyone is doing while at the same time knowing exactly what you are doing, and he is watching you with expectation.
Doing this has helped me at times to take life more seriously and strive to live for God more fully. It has also helped me to have a better appreciation of God's presence with me. That he is truly with me all the time, and so intimately that it is as if no one else exists. He is able to be that intimate with me even though he is intimately with other people all over the world as well.
Thanks for sharing this, Anthony.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a much closer relationship with God when I first came to faith at the age of 26. I had no church background and had been an atheist, but when I recognized God's hand in my life and came to faith, I felt certain he always had his eye on me. Over the years (I'm 64) that sense slowly left me, or maybe my "faith" just became too routine. It's very good that you reminded me to really take God's love seriously.
I like this exercise and the truths it impresses. Thanks for sharing it!
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