“A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump. A God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.”
Prov 11:28 (MSG)
What does it mean to put God at the center of our lives? See God’s original intention for life in Eden, where God is center.
Within the larger circle of earth universal there was the smaller circle that was Eden, then a yet smaller circle–the Holy Garden of God.
And at the very center of the Garden was the Tree of Life. This tree stood tall as the representation of the God-life for Adam and Eve.
In the beginning, God was supposed to be the center of Adam’s world, not Adam.
Adam was not the center of the universe.
Although, as humans, most times we tend to live as though we are the center of the universe.
However, life comes from God at the center, and it can only be lived in fullness at the center, in union with God.
The further from the center we roam, the more our energy fades and our burdens become heavier.
The brightness of our life diminishes.
However, in the Garden of Eden, we were centered in the palm of our Creator’s hand, not off balance or off-kilter, but centered, just as the planets are all aligned and centered precisely as they are created to be.[1]
In His presence, we are centered and aligned just as we are created to be.
God Sustains the Eden Life
Adam and Eve lived life in union with their Creator, not independent of their Creator.
Their life came from God, and was sustained by God.
Our life breath comes from the life that God gives, and is intended to be lived in unity with God.
For He is the Center by which all things hold together.
Life with God at the Center is Abundant Life
The Eden life was filled with purpose and abundant provision for every possible need: physically, emotionally, relationally, psychologically, and spiritually.
Abundant life was a life Adam and Eve did not have to struggle to obtain.
Eden life was the ideal life where Adam and Eve lived in intimate communion with God and continued to grow in the knowledge of God, themselves, and the creation.
We can Seek the Eden Life at the Center Today
For many people, this divine life of God that flows from the center is practically unexplored.
We seek the abundant life, not in our own knowledge, skill, and abilities, but from the One who is emphatically the Life.[2]
We can pursue the truly abundant life by pursuing the knowledge of God rather than our own carnal, fleshly desires.
When we begin to explore the divine kingdom life of God with all its benefits and responsibilities, we begin a journey to explore the nature of God and our own heart motives.
Ironically, as Adam and Eve began to explore the kingdom, they were lured by the glitter of immediate power and neglected this first and most essential thing—to value, protect, tend, and guard the garden life above all else.
After their sin, the first couple was sent out of the Garden, away from the center to the periphery.
Cultivating A Life Where God is the Center
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Jas 4:4).
Take a few minutes to think honestly about what is at the center of your life.
Think about your day-to-day activities. Your center is the thing you focus on the most.
What is at the center of your life?
If we are not careful, we allow idols to take God’s place as Center.
These things cause a wall between us and our Creator. Then our relationship with God is pushed outside the Garden.
Action Steps:
- First, ask God to show you areas of your life where He is not in the center. Ask Him to show you where idols are in your life.
- What will you change? We can all make some sort of tweak to our life that helps move us closer to the Center.
- Simply stop and think only on Christ for a few minutes.
- Take a few moments and write your thoughts in a notebook or journal.
Friend, life with God at the Center is not a life where you are stressed out doing lots of religious things. Religious things are supposed to point you toward Christ. In Christ is rest, grace, and peace! Sometimes we can get too busy with activities.
?Living with God at the center begins when you think about Him more and consider Him first in your daily activities.
Blessings to your journey!
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NOTES:
[1] D. Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1–3. vol. 3, Trans. M. Rüter, I. Tödt, & J. W. de Gruchy, Eds., D. S. Bax (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004), 83–86.
[2] John 1:4; 14:6.
