Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. Mark 3:13-14

I used to live by keeping all the different parts of my life in their separate worlds. I had my work, family, and faith worlds, as well as numerous others. I invented my own universe, with me as the bright center.

In each world was a piece of myself I would show people. While I thought I had everything neatly organized, I couldn’t prevent the friction that occurred when these different worlds competed for my attention.  

It wasn’t until I had a deep conversation with a friend about my faith journey that I realized where I was falling short.  I had a relationship with Jesus, but I still put myself at the center.  And the friction I was feeling was inevitable.

During that conversation, I felt a very strong calling from Jesus to reorient. I realized that Jesus created all of me.  I wasn’t made to split up pieces of me across all these worlds I created. By putting Jesus in the center of my universe, I could begin working on being the person he knows I can be, thriving in the world he created.

When Jesus called the twelve apostles, he was asking them to center their lives on him. He didn’t take them out of their world and bring them into a new world. Jesus was asking these men to be with him, spend time with him, and work together to spread his message in their world.  He was inviting them to live Jesus-centered lives. 

Putting Jesus at the center isn’t a resolution to make Jesus more important. It’s about orienting my life to keep the focus on Jesus. Without Jesus at the center, balancing work, family, and church was a challenge.  

For example, trying to explain to my boss (who, for the record, is wonderful) why I didn’t like traveling on Sunday, without including Jesus, was a challenge. However, once I was comfortable talking about my complete person, which involves Sunday service, worship, and family, my boss understood why Sundays were important. Jesus was at the center, and the friction was removed.

Different parts of my life are always going to compete for resources. Life still presents challenges, but by centering my life on Jesus, I have access to the resources that allow me to face these challenges as a complete person.   

Do you have pieces of yourself living in different worlds? Reflect this week on how you can orient yourself so that Jesus is important in all areas of your life, not just in pieces of it.  How can this unlock resources you didn’t know were available to help you move closer to Jesus as the bright center of your universe?