We are often promised that things will be simpler than they turn out to be.
Sometimes it’s because we’re sold something, pitched on an idea that “we can do it” when we actually cannot. My mom taught me some basic sewing skills when I was growing up, so in college I purchased a “2 hour” skirt pattern thinking I could knock it out, but it ended up taking me more like 8 hours plus my mom’s help.
Other times the more we get into something, the more complicated it becomes because of unforeseen details. One time a toilet in our house was running and I figured out what the problem was, went to a home improvement store, bought the replacement parts, and thought it would be a 10 minute/less than $20 fix. But when a nut wouldn’t budge for me to remove the old parts and the small space between said nut and the wall wasn’t big enough for me to use our wrench to get it off, it ended up as a multiple hours of my time/$150 visit from the plumber.
We’re often duped into the lure of oversimplification, aren’t we?
I’ve taken the season of Lent this year to limit my doom scrolling and the only social media I’ve been consistently engaged with is LinkedIn, where, unfortunately this oversimplification is also on display in many of the promoted and suggested posts in my feed. It’s usually along these lines: “You’ve been taught your industry works a specific way but you’re finding it difficult and not always successful? You’re doing it wrong, but my simple one idea will make it all better #thisistheway”
Life is complex, we are complicated creatures. Why are we constantly trying to move toward quick fixes and come up short? As Eugene Peterson puts it, our life with Christ is “a long obedience in the same direction.” There is no “hack” or short cut to a life well lived. But the flipside of that is the richness and depth of life that nothing else can match.
There exists both simplicity and complexity in complement to one another when we orient our lives to Christ. On the one hand, God’s call to us is simple: Walk with me; be with me and be changed by me. On the other hand, it is incredibly complex: Make decisions about jobs, relationships, civics, education, food – pick your area of life. Struggle for a long while through an illness or loss. It might be incredibly stressful and not at all straightforward.
But one does not negate the other. In the simplicity of following Jesus is a depth of freedom because He can bear the weight of the complex. The complexity of human existence is not overwhelming and hopeless because of God himself: A triune God is the anchoring simplicity.
It seems counterintuitive, right? I can’t even explain the trinity. But you know what? We rely “not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.” (2 Corinthians 1:12)
And, yes, it’s difficult. Simplicity doesn’t necessarily mean easy.
A marathon is a simple, straightforward idea: Run 26.2 miles. But it ain’t easy!
Sometimes my life seems like a constant swinging between the two extremes – embracing simplicity at the neglect of a deeper calling or wallowing in the complexity fueled by my own self-righteousness.
What the Holy Spirit keeps bringing to light is life should be multi-faceted. Our culture longs for quick fixes and self-sufficiency, but we were not made to function that way.
The beauty of the world around us and the variety of animals, colors, music, people, abilities and more all point to an incredibly complex creator. Instead of shying away from that reality, we should celebrate it.
Romans 11:33-36 (KJV) “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor?”
I was reminded this week on a podcast interview with John Mark Comer that the life of a follower of Jesus is a constant reflection of Holy Week: death, burial, and resurrection. As a parent, I may die many small deaths of sacrificing my time over and over for the sake of my child. The burial is in the years that I see no or very little good come from it, but the resurrection can be a relationship of trust down the road. Or perhaps we die to a season of life that we really enjoyed, and the next season is hard and lonely, but we can look with hope to the resurrection that can appear in a future season as we cling even more tightly to Jesus and are matured in our faith.
These are long processes and are so far from the easy offerings of the world. The next time you’re tempted to buy into a “quick fix” consider that life is deeper than the credit our culture often gives it.
As we live out that pattern of death, burial and resurrection, we look toward our ultimate death, burial, and resurrection in Christ when we will join Him in eternity and say as C.S. Lewis encouraged us, “This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!”
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Originally from Georgia, Mary Beth Gombita is a lover of sweet tea, a proud Georgia Bulldog and an avid music fan.
She works in public relations, running her own communications consulting business from home. Mary Beth and her husband, Stephen, have two young sons. She is currently the editor of our Willowdale Women blog.