Guest post: What is real?

My dear wife has written the following post.

From time spent in India I am more aware of the existence of the spiritual world. In the West we tend to discredit things that aren’t tangible, things that can’t be touched or measured – for the sake of being “educated” and "rational". We have disqualified the spiritual for the sake of the material, things that we can not see for things that we thing are quantifiable and "real".

That makes me angry – this cultural blindness is like wearing shackles that I never asked for.

In most of India you can’t go far without running into a shrine or temple. To most Indians, there is no question that there is a spiritual world. Even some physicists consult the astrological calendar to pick an audacious date for their daughters wedding. I am not saying this is a good thing. The question isn’t so much “is there a god?” but rather “which gods will I honour?” We might argue about which is farther from the truth – living as if there are no gods or sacrificing to false gods? Yet the difference is striking.

As a Christian it is refreshing that the reality of the spiritual realm is affirmed by a society. It becomes easier to set one’s heart and mind on things above, not on earthly things. The dark side also is true, I’m more aware of the spiritual warfare surrounding us, and that our struggle isn’t against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil. The problems of our age can’t be solved by argument but need prayer and fasting.

I pray that God would help me to hold onto this awareness before it recedes into the Western norm. Help me to remember this world needs people honouring You with their lives – not an over emphasis on material things or analytical arguments seeking a perfect answer.