Centering and the Christian Worldview

Nowadays, in things like yoga and martial arts, you hear about centering. This concept comes from the Eastern religions, and it means you are connected to the center. It means that you have stability. This Centering can refer to physical stability in which you stand firmly balanced on the ground. Still, mostly it is used when spoken of inward stability: the center being a place within you. A center is a place of balance, peace, a place of unity, a place of tranquility. Any form of stress, erraticism, imbalance, or anxiety means you are not centered.

Now, before you stop reading and conclude that I am a pagan, hang on.

We All Have Centers

Whether we are mystical or not, we have to admit that we all have centers. A center is what grounds you and gives you a sense of control, security, or stability.

1. For some people, Christian or not, the center is in themselves. They are constantly busy with self-improvement, self-focus, self-obsession, to the point of narcissism.

2. For some people, including Christians, the center is their material possessions. When people have money, they feel secure and safe.

3. For some, and especially Christians in our circles, their center is their family or church life.

Now here is the problem: When our centers get disrupted, we feel we lose control, and we become anxious, unsafe, fearful, and erratic. We can see that happening with the coronavirus. When the things we value and care about fall away, our sense of safety and control falls away, and we become fearful and afraid. And as we do so, we make others around us afraid as well. Our fear is contagious and impacts our families, our children, and our psyche.

God's Center of the World

We do not have to be so impacted by circumstances if it adopts God's vision of the world. Jesus places himself right into the middle of the world as the world's center. The question is whether you center yourself around him or not.

God is at the geographical center of the world.

God chose Israel to be his people. Israel is in the center of the nations, the hinge that keeps them together. Israel is a nation in between continents. It connects Asia, Africa, and right above it is Europe. God's chosen nation was at the center of the world, and from this center, the Gospel would spread throughout the entire globe. God very strategically chose Israel.

God is at the center of world powers and religions.

The Temple in Jerusalem existed until Jesus. After Jesus, the temple was destroyed, and the Church came into existence. The Church has never been destroyed, and it will never be destroyed, as God promises in Matthew 16:18. Jesus stands at the center of the two most prominent world religions, and he is the hinge that separates them in time.

Jesus is in the center of time.

Time starts with God and ends with God because God is the Alpha and the Omega. But we also count our years, starting with Jesus Christ. There is before Christ and after Christ. Although some people tried to change the name to Common Era, nobody has changed the fact that we still count from the year of his birth! So, God is in the beginning, in the center, and in the middle of time. And nobody has been able to do anything about that.

God has put his stamp right on the center of the world and says: "Mine."

How does Centering impact our worldview?

A friend of mine told me about a woman he met. She was from India who asked him why it was the year 2000. He told her about Jesus Christ as the starting point of the years. She asked who Jesus Christ was, and as he explained, she gave her life to him and was changed forever.

Many others have become less afraid and occupied with the events happening all around them when they realize how much in control God is of this world and how intentional God is in placing himself at the center of this world.

In any instance of fear about the stability of our lives, it is helpful to remember that God is not shocked, nor afraid, nor upset when our centers fall. In Psalm 2, God asks,

"Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? "the One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain." (Ps. 2).

In other words, God says: I placed my Son in the center of this world. Literally and symbolically. Why are you afraid? Centering gives stability. Centering gives safety. But only the ones centering around Jesus will have total stability and have NO MORE reason for anxiety.