“Seeing Life From God’s View”

This is the 5th week of our study of Pastor Rick Warren’s booklet, “What On Earth Am I Here For?”. The title of this week’s chapter reminds me of that unforgettable photo of the “earthrise” taken by the Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders in December, 1968. It changed everything when humans started seeing the world from God’s view. The world suddenly seemed smaller and everyone became our neighbor.

Rick Warren said, “The way you see your life shapes your life” (page 34). James Allen said something similar in his classic book, "As A Man Thinketh". What we think discloses who we are and determines what we become. It is critical, then, that we see our life as God sees it and begin to think the way God thinks.

What kind of “life metaphor” do you have for the way you see your life? Is it one of those Warren mentioned that a lot of people choose: a party, a race, a marathon, a battle or game? Or is it one suggested by the Bible: a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment?

Romans 12:1,2 tells us to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by having our mind renewed. Warren refers to this verse as a way for us to seriously consider looking at life through one of the biblical metaphors he mentioned.

Probably the most common of those metaphors is a test. You see this in so many of the stories in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

How many Bible stories can you remember where the main character is linked with “trials, temptations, refining and testing”. What test, temptation, etc. would you associate with the following characters Warren mentions?

Adam & Eve—
Abraham—
Jacob—
King David—
Joseph—
Ruth—
Esther—
Daniel—

What other characters and tests can you think of?

What tests and characters do you identify with yourself?

Do you agree with this statement from page 36, “Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.”? Why or why not?

Fill in these blanks. Warren says he has noticed that God tests his __________ through problems, his _________ by how he handles his possessions, and his ________ through people. Can you think of some times when God has tested you in the same ways?

In his speech to the graduating class of Stanford June 12, 2005, Steve Jobs talked about some “sidetracks” his life sometimes took, and that he later realized how fortunate he was that he took them. “Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” You can read his entire speech here.

Some things that happen in our lives make us wish we could connect the dots forward. But as Warren says on page 37, “Sometimes God intentionally draws back.” When that happens, we have trouble understanding what’s going on. We can’t “connect the dots”.

Have you ever had a time when you could not feel God’s presence and you felt He had abandoned you?

As you look back on it now, could that have been God’s test of your character in some way?

Well, I haven’t gotten to the other metaphors in this chapter. Let’s save those for next time.