The Simple Life


I enjoy traveling.  It is fun to see and experience new destinations.  Typically, I even enjoy the actual process of traveling – there is still something neat about getting on airplane.  While I get excited about traveling, there is one part of it with which I have a love-hate relationship – booking the travel.  Well, let me rephrase that; by the time I get to the point of booking travel, I am relieved, my issue comes with the planning.  I can spend hours (and hours) investigating the best locations and the cheapest deals to get us there.  About the time I think I am ready to make a decision I am tempted to consider one more option or wonder, “You know, what if we ...?”.  I am sure that there have been times when I have spent more time planning than I did traveling.  Sometimes I just make it harder than it should be!
The reason for this revelation is that I see a parallel in spiritual living.  Christianity is a simple process.  After being asked about the essence of godliness Jesus poured its foundation by saying, “’You shall love your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all you mind”.  This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39).  That seems pretty simple, doesn’t it?  Yet, how often do we overthink things and end up muddying the waters?  Similar to Jesus’ contemporaries who asked questions like, “Who is my neighbor?” we have a tendency to want to keep digging until we are overwhelmed by queries, opinions and theories.  We get sidetracked by what others think (and what we think about what others think) and forget that the simple Christian journey is summed up in loving God and loving our fellow man.
So, is there any way to clarify the process of love?  I think there might be:
We love God by appreciating what He has done for us and doing what He demands of us.  When we are grateful for the salvation we have been offered and when we commit to being faithful to Him we demonstrate our love for God.  This means seeking His will through His Word and investing our lives in doing what He expects from us.  We don’t try to figure out the bare minimum that is good enough, rather we dedicate ourselves to putting forth the maximum effort.
We love others by caring about them and doing for them.  Like our love for God, brotherly love can get spun out of control, but it is still a simple concept.  Loving our neighbors can be accomplished by determining what the people around us want and need from us.  It involves helping them become the best they can be.  It is alleviating their cares and introducing them to the Savior.
Love is at the heart of Christianity – it’s as simple as that.  Let’s commit to living the simple life.

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