Question: What is reality?
“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” – Colossians 2:17
Reality can be based on the perception of the individual; However, that doesn’t mean the individual is correct. Our past experiences, emotions and moods can impact the way we see things. So, how can we be sure that the world we experience is not just a figment of our imaginations? We can look to Christ. The truth is, what we think to be reality is shaped in two ways, The Spirit or the Flesh. When we are in a good mood and feel ‘nothing can rain on our parade’, we are living in the Spirit. We are choosing to see the good and be calm before the storm. However, when we are in a bad mood and feel ‘nothing can be worse than this’ we are thinking fleshly. We allow the flesh to control our moods and it effects us negatively. The goal of choosing what reality we should live in, is shown by the way Jesus lived his life. His entire life was created for an example that we can see and learn from. His words, actions and thoughts for his 33 years on earth, were lived in The Spirit. His reality was sinless. His reality was not to give in to temptation. His reality was not to condemn the world, but to save it from it’s sin. The reality of Jesus’s life, is the reality we must keep in our minds daily.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned”- 1 Corinthians 2:14
The definition of reality is, the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them. By definition, regardless of what we may feel or believe, there is only one ‘correct’ reality. Since, we know that The Lord’s truth, is the only ‘correct’ truth, we can rest assure that the reality of Jesus, is the only reality that is correct. Reality may be in the eye of the beholder, but that doesn’t mean that their eyes aren’t tainted. The Holy Spirit is reality. The reality that we must live and think of, is eternity. The reality that the world will come to an end, Jesus will return and there will be a final judgement, is God’s reality.
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” -1 Peter 2:11