Simplicity

What makes are the great music classics? The songs you listen to over and over? The ones that have survived the test of time?

The simple ones that tug at the heart strings.

Simplicity. The greatest things in life are simple. In today's world, simplicity is hard to see. There are so many things that cry out for attention and so many options and so many decisions to make.

What are some things that you view simple? The other day I was thinking about how a tree is so simple. It grows and it sits there, and doesn't change much unless acted upon. Sometimes its branches sway in the wind, but it doesn't do much, yet it attracts my attention. Or the stars, they mainly sit in their set place. They are simple in that there is something constant and unchanging. There is nothing new to really figure out; they don't change. Their life is simple.

Just like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Man sinned against God; God pulled away from man; man deserves death for his sin; God sends his Son to die the death man deserves to atone for mans' sins; anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and His Gospel and submits to Him and lives in faith receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and eternity with God. This Gospel will never change. It is that simple, that a little kid can understand.

But as you begin to think about the trees again...they start out as a tiny seed, they grow roots, they begin to sprout, and they grow into a mighty creation that is not easily moved. They grow leaves. They heal themselves. There is so much more to a tree than existing and being acted upon. Yet you do not know that by just looking at it. You have to observe it over time, and as you study the tree, you learn new things about the tree that you never knew before. The tree's life is simple.

The Gospel will never change. Yet as you spend time diving into the Bible, and living by faith, you learn more and more about the greatness, character, and glory of God. As simple as the Gospel is, there are so many intricacies of the Lord and of the Gospel that are a mystery to us. The more you learn, the more beautiful the Gospel becomes and the more you learn about it...but the Gospel never changes and is simple in nature...God chose to redeem man who didn't deserve to know the presence of God.

Some people long for so much and have so many dreams and chase after them and want to do and accomplish many things. They are never satisfied though, because they chase after the wind. The Gospel is constant and unchanging, yet you will learn more and more about God. Live a simple life, live the Gospel, and live with intricacies that will leave others learning more about you, only to discover more about the Spirit living within you. Perhaps you will impact hundreds of thousands lives...and live experiences other never can...but set your heart on the Gospel of Jesus.

Simplicity is beautiful and wondrous.