Dave’s Monday Blast – July 19, 2021
The Christian life is meant to be marked by simplicity. From my perspective, humankind is not as complex as we like to believe, after all, we are routinely compared in Scripture to sheep. (Click on the link below for affirmation of this truth)
Jesus summed up our purpose with two statements: Love God and Love people (Mark 12:30 & 31). But in our humanity, we have made complex what God designed to be peaceful, purposeful and plain. A.W. Tozer remarks in The Pursuit of God, “Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods and organization, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.”
My prayer for each of us today is that we discover the peace and joy that comes from pursuing a simple Christianity this week. Jesus simply stated: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28 – 30).
This statement by Jesus is one of the simple, core values of a restored relationship with our heavenly Father. REST! From the beginning God exemplified its importance. (Genesis 2:3) says, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” Compare (Hebrews 4:9 – 13). We must not allow the busyness and stress of the world to influence us in greater ways than the “living and active” word of our heavenly Father. We are designed for work, but we are also designed for rest. Throughout each day we must set aside time to simply enjoy God and the blessed life He has given us. When we value success and busyness over relationship with God and obedience to His commands, our priorities begin to fall out of place. When we choose busyness over rest, we place more value on whatever we are working toward than on our restored relationship with God and the abundant life he died to give us.
May we be children who choose to live by the Word and the systems of God rather than the values and structures of the world. May we be children who live with the simple, core value of rest as we follow the model of our Heavenly Father.
