Keep It Simple Stupid!
Yes, you did hear me correctly. I said it correctly, Sometimes we are just too stupid for simplicity. Unfortunatly I think we have made the life of Christ, the life we Christians are supposed to live soooo complicated.
A friend reminded me yesterday of this verse from the Bible: "the Lord has told you what is good,and this is what he requires of you:to do what is right, to love mercy,and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
KISS! keep it simple stupid! I think it is kind of profound how we catagorize our lives of faith and put levels on our spirituality. Jesus said all of the law and the prophets can be summed up in this "Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lordyour God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'(Matt 22:37-40)
Why don't we just start right here and live this first, before anything else?
So I pose this question: can Christianity be reduced to such simplicity?
A friend reminded me yesterday of this verse from the Bible: "the Lord has told you what is good,and this is what he requires of you:to do what is right, to love mercy,and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
KISS! keep it simple stupid! I think it is kind of profound how we catagorize our lives of faith and put levels on our spirituality. Jesus said all of the law and the prophets can be summed up in this "Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lordyour God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'(Matt 22:37-40)
Why don't we just start right here and live this first, before anything else?
So I pose this question: can Christianity be reduced to such simplicity?
What do you think?
posted by Carl at 11:12 AM
4 Comments:
Carl it can but without the power of the Holy Spirit no lives will be transformed by that life.
One problem I see today is that the Holy Spirit is relegated to a theological assumption. We assume because we are Christians that He is with us in power.
Until we learn to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit we will be ineffective ministers of Christ. He is the power that changes lives. I like the thought of simplicity and I value what you are saying here. We must be and do those things.
YES YES YES!!! I am soooo ready for this. The thing that comes to my mind is that we are to come as little children. Children are referred to a lot in the Bible. Why does God choose for us to become like little children? (kids are simple) They trust, they love, they ACCEPT you as you are. So maybe God is wanting us to look as through the eyes of an untainted child.
I think life for a lot of people would be different if we just set out everyday to love God and love people. What a difference we would make.
Now here is my odd way of looking at Terry's response:
So the person that is pushing themselves to live a life of loving God, seeking God, and ultimately receiving all God has for them would they not be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. I remember that the Holy Spirit came out of a desire for more of Jesus and to comfort us, draw us and lead us in this life on earth. I believe if we got real before God He will get just as real back and the power of His Spirit would not be in question.
I dont think we need a Bible degree or 20 years of ministry to minister effectively to others. I have seen the "baby Christians" that loved God and were obedient to his "nudges" impact other people's lives in ways us seasoned followers could not because they have risen above the simple daily lives of other with their super spiritual language and outward togetherness.
Terry,
Welcome Glad you made it over. You are correct, without the power of the Holy Spirit no lives will be transformed, however you make the statement we assume because we are Christians that He is with us in power From a theological perspective He is. There is a difference though that needs to be revealed further from your statement. The Holy Spirit is with us in power but that power is not revealed until we, as Christians, yield ourselves to Him. See the difference. I also love the way you describe how the H.S. is relegated to a theological assumption. The bulk of Christians out there have not a clue of the H.S. and how He operates in their lives. I believe that is part of the problem I describe. Our Christianity has been relegated to a set of parameters that have stereotyped us into marginalism. We have spent more time and energy standing against things we see as wrong (i.e. homosexual marriage, benefits, or abortion to name a few), and our churches have spent more time emphasizing those things instead of a simple life of faith, and instead of a life spent focused on the needs of others. that passage in micah God is responding to the kind of offering he desires. take a look at the previous verses, God describes the offerings that have little significance compared to a simple life lived out through simple faith.
Thanks Terry! keep discussing, all these matters of faith, church, community, and life deserve our dialogue to find the heart of God within it all
Liela,
You go Girl! Excellent correlation of our simple life of faith and God's call for us to have the faith of a child! you childrens ministers always pull out the good stuff!
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