Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest… a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. … They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one.
Hebrews 8:1-2, 8 (selected)
The Bachelor is not real.
Survivor is not real. The Real Housewives are not real.
Reality TV is not real. It’s orchestrated and produced, a manufactured story. That’s why it’s entertaining for some and detested by others.
What if your life, the life you think you are living, is also an illusion?
Buddhists and Hindus tend to think so. They believe that all of this around us is a manifestation, and that the real world is much more fundamental. You must be awakened to the ideas of impermanence and detachment to comprehend it.
Some scientists, philosophers and techbros think so. From Neil deGrasse Tyson to Elon Musk to the movie, The Matrix, there are people who suggest we might be living in some higher being’s video game!
There are Christians who think so, too. Paul says “what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18). And here in Hebrews, the writer says our places of worship are really place-holders for a fully realized experience of God.
There are actually quite a few people who think life, this life, is but a dream.
I’m not sure what to make of that.
On the one hand, I do feel like I’m looking “through a glass dimly” when I look at the world. I have this innate sense that there is more going on than meets the eye, and that someday I will see “face to face”. (1 Corinthians 13)
But I would never want to brush off this world as insignificant, a flight of fancy, or something ultimately inauthentic. I’ve built a life here. Relationships. Purpose. Identity. Something deeper than fiction.
Reality isn’t just what we perceive—it’s something we participate in. If this is a simulation, it’s one where love still counts
I think of myself as a co-shaper with God. We create together over time, weaving reality as we go. All of us. People choose to frame that reality in lots of ways.
My reality is largely framed by Christ.
Maybe you wonder about these things, or maybe you try not to think about them. Maybe you just enjoy the ride.
I still loathe reality TV, but I’ve come to accept that my reality is ever changing and expanding. It’s all kinds of things, just not scripted.
If I have a part in shaping this reality, then I want to shape it toward joy… toward love… toward something that lasts.
And I’m going to try to go through it
merrily
merrily
merrily
merrily.
Have a great week,
Mitch
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