I am being challenged in my view of the world by a book by Nancy Pearcey called Total Truth. Pearcey’s book encourages Christians to look at the world in which they live through the lens of Christianity. It is a worldview book that challenges Christians not to live two different lives, one religious and one secular, but to live all of live as a follower of Christ.
Worldview
A worldview is a way of looking at the world. It is a way of interpreting the world in which you live and then living in light of that interpretation. It answers the big questions of life: Why are we here? What is truth? How are we to live? What happens after this life? A person’s worldview is the lens through which they understand life.
A Christian Worldview
A Christian worldview interprets the world through the lens of God’s revealed word. It interprets the world through the lens of the redemptive storyline of the Bible. It interprets the world through themes like the sovereignty of a holy God who created and sustains all things, the sinfulness, rebellion, and guilt of all humanity, and the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.
“Truth” About Total Reality
Christianity is the “Truth” about total reality. It is not just truth for me, or truth for those who follow Christ, it is the one absolute Truth that defines all things. Francis Schaeffer said,
Worldview
A worldview is a way of looking at the world. It is a way of interpreting the world in which you live and then living in light of that interpretation. It answers the big questions of life: Why are we here? What is truth? How are we to live? What happens after this life? A person’s worldview is the lens through which they understand life.
A Christian Worldview
A Christian worldview interprets the world through the lens of God’s revealed word. It interprets the world through the lens of the redemptive storyline of the Bible. It interprets the world through themes like the sovereignty of a holy God who created and sustains all things, the sinfulness, rebellion, and guilt of all humanity, and the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.
“Truth” About Total Reality
Christianity is the “Truth” about total reality. It is not just truth for me, or truth for those who follow Christ, it is the one absolute Truth that defines all things. Francis Schaeffer said,
The Difference “Truth” Should MakeChristianity is not a series of truths in the plural, but rather truth spelled with a capital "T." Truth about total reality, not just about religious things. Biblical Christianity is Truth concerning total reality - and the intellectual holding of that total Truth and then living
in the light of that Truth. -Pearcey, Total Truth, p. 15
Truth about total reality should define all that I do, and say, and think. It should define the way I act, and the way I parent, and the way I work, and the way I relate to my neighbor, and business associates, and enemies. There should never be a Christian Dave and a non-Christian Dave. My identity as a follower of Christ should identify all of reality for me. It should thoroughly saturate who I am wherever I am in whatever I am doing.
Where This Shows Up For Me
One place this shows up in my life is how I talk to non-Christians. I can be too quick not to say something I should say for fear of offending someone. I need to be careful to respect, and honor and care for those I relate to but I must also faithfully represent Truth in my life.
Where It Might Show Up In Your Life
Your struggle might be similar. Or, it might be how you relate to those you work with, or how you relate to your business partners, or how you relate to those at school, or how you relate to your neighbors. Does the Truth totally saturate who you are so that wherever you go and whatever you do and whatever you say is informed by Truth?
