Have you ever tried putting together a jigsaw puzzle without referencing the box? It’s hard. And the bigger the puzzle, the harder it is to do without a guide. The largest puzzle I have ever put together was a 1,000 piece puzzle. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be if I never looked at the box- as in I never saw it even once. Yet, this is exactly how Christian teens-so many Christian teens-spend their younger years and even on into adulthood trying to figure out whole portions of their life without ever once referencing their guide.

Maybe a jigsaw puzzle is not a strong enough illustration. I mean, after all, you can put a jigsaw puzzle down and forget about it. Let’s think of a worldview in a different way. Think of our solar system. All of our planets operate on the condition of the centripital force caused by gravity. Without gravity drawing us in and helping to create that perfect balance that leads to a planet staying in perfect orbit around the sun then planets would be flung out to the farthest reaches of space. Destruction and death would ensue.

This is a lot like how our worldview works. We have to have that perfect balance. We need to see how our faith relates to every aspect of our lives- how they act and react with each other. Yet so many of our young people float throughout life without thinking deeply about issues or they assume they already know everything they need to know. All the while things are crashing into one another and spinning out of control without them even realizing it.

There is one other way that our worldview works. It’s an image that comes straight for scripture. In Psalm 1, the Psalmist says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of the wicked, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and his law does he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by a river of water that brings forth its fruit in its season. His leaves do not wither and anything he does shall prosper.”

We need to have roots. Roots that are deep. Roots that hold tight our convictions and therefore our opinions. When we aren’t going down deep then our opinions, convictions, and beliefs will change with the changing seasons of our culture.

It’s time we start connecting the dots. It’s time we sneak a peek behind the curtain to see what’s just beyond what we can see in front of us. It’s time we stop assuming we know the truth. It’s time we understand the Bible the way God wants us to understand it: as the big picture that guides our lives, as the great unifying force that can create order and balance, and as the foundation- the root- that keeps us grounded when things around us are chaotic.

It’s time we bring everything under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. So let’s start today.