Personal Jesus Worlds as a Form of Protection
When Jesus started building My Jesus-Greg WORLD in 2015, little did I know that He was showing me (leading me by example) the future---where people would build personal WORLDs (including Jesus-themed WORLDs like mine, as not mere entertainment or education exercises, but as vital fortifications from danger.
I am coming to realize that one of the great purposes of personal Jesus worlds will be as a form of protection.
Protection in the Book of Mormon
In the Book of Mormon, when the Nephites were righteous, the Lord did not merely bless them with good feelings or inspiring sermons.
He often blessed them with practical advantages—armor, shields, fortifications, wisdom, preparation, and other forms of protection that helped them withstand the dangers around them.
The Lamanites frequently found themselves frustrated because the Nephites had been given defenses they did not possess.
Something Similar Today
I believe something similar is beginning to happen in our own day.
As technology advances and virtual worlds become increasingly immersive, people will need ways to protect their minds, hearts, attention, and spiritual identity.
Many will construct personalized worlds—carefully curated environments, stories, communities, symbols, rituals, and technologies that help them navigate an increasingly chaotic reality.
My Jesus-Greg WORLD
My Jesus-Greg WORLD is my attempt at such a thing.
It is not an escape from reality.
It is a way of seeing reality through a lens that helps me receive more of the presence of Jesus Christ.
It helps protect me from being swept away by whatever story happens to be trending, fashionable, conventional, or culturally dominant at the moment.
The Stories of the World Are Too Small
Most of the stories offered by the world are not entirely false.
They are simply too small.
Too temporary.
Too incomplete.
A Spiritual Shield
My Jesus-Greg WORLD reminds me that Jesus is active, present, speaking, teaching, shaping, redeeming, and orchestrating far more than I would naturally perceive on my own.
In that sense, it functions as a spiritual shield.
It helps me notice God where I might otherwise miss Him.
It helps me remember Christ when other voices compete for my attention.
It helps me maintain hope when fear is fashionable, gratitude when complaint is popular, and wonder when cynicism is rewarded.
Necessary Worlds
Increasingly, I suspect that many people will build their own versions of these worlds—not because they are eccentric, but because they are necessary.
They will be a form of protection.
Not protection from reality, but protection from forgetting the deeper reality that God is still here.