Simplicity

…the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Becoming a Christian is a simple matter. The first step of faith requires a child like faith that accepts the free gift of eternal life without questioning it, trying to figure out if it’s real, or has strings attached. Just having that kind of faith is the key to the start of the Christian life: understanding we are sinners living in a sinful world with only one path to eternal freedom: Jesus Christ. We don’t overthink, we accept and believe.

But then the adventure begins, which is learning how to LIVE the Christian life. That also requires child like faith at times to continue to trust that Christ is for us, and that God has all things under control. We many times overthink matters and spend too much of our own energy trying to think things through rather than looking to God for direction and understanding.

But we are also called into a deeper relationship with Christ, which requires more than just belief. Any relationship requires time to be invested. We spend time in the Word, time in prayer, time in worship, time in fellowship with other believers. All this builds us up spiritually, and trains our soul and mind the proper way to think, act and respond.

Responding correctly is perhaps one of the most difficult habits to develop. When everything in your body and mind wants to scream, panic or lash out to something taking place around you, we learn that those emotions are rarely helpful. Instead we learn to see what is happening with eyes for eternity, especially when things aren’t going well.

A child’s instinct when something bad happens is usually to look for their mother or father. Why? They seek comfort? Christ wants us to have the same response – seek His comfort first, and let Him help make sense of it all and help us to see what the next steps are.