“Living your days in an artificial world is like living your whole life with gloves on, a filtered experience, never really feeling anything. Then you wonder why your soul feels numb. We are looking for more of God. . . . God inhabits the world he made; his vibrancy permeates all creation.”- John Eldredge
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”- Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)
In Chapter 7 (“Get Outside”) of Get Your Life Back, John Eldredge relates one of the best things that happened to him this past summer. The air conditioning went out on his truck. As a result, John chose to drive with the windows down. And he wistfully recalled the days when cars came equipped with vent windows (aka ‘Texas air conditioning’).
Furthermore, the author recently ran across a news release that shocked him. The release reported that the average person now spends 93 percent of their life indoors. Thus, John explains why this represents the final nail in the coffin of the human soul:
“You live a bodily existence. The physical life, with all the glories of senses, appetites, and passions — this is the life God meant for us. It’s through our senses we learn most every important lesson. Even in spiritual acts of worship and prayer we are standing or kneeling, engaging bodily. God put your soul in this amazing body and then put you in a world perfectly designed for that experience. Which is why this rescue of the soul takes place through our engagement with the real world.”
Finally, in the real world — unlike the world of technology — there’s no switch for you to flip. Therefore, you must engage. So, to prevent your body, soul, and spirit from falling into atrophy, inhabit the real world. Draw life, joy, and strength from God’s creation.
Today’s question: How much daily time do you spend in the artificial world? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Relief is momentary – restoration needed”
