A Simple Faith

We have made faith overly complex. Real faith has a beautiful simplicity.

I pray we would engage our faith in a way that is simple, repeatable, and reproducible.

Illustration - In a relay race it is essential that the hand-off of the baton goes smoothly. Can you imagine what would happen if, instead of passing off a simple baton, you had to pass off a bicycle frame?!? Or, what would would happen if, instead of trying to take hold of a light baton, you had to run with a heavy cinder block?

Could it be that one reason the family of God does not seem to be growing around us as we hoped it would is that instead of the light and easy yoke Jesus promised, we have been inadvertantly trying to pass off something that is both heavy and complex?

I am not suggesting that we dumb down or water down the faith. I am insisting that it is time for us to let go of non-essential extras while holding tightly to the essential things required for us to faithfully fulfill the mission of God in our generation.

Love God

Matthew 22:37 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

In this verse Jesus is responding to the question, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” In response to this, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 which faithful Jews then and now quoted twice a day. The man asked question in order to test Jesus. It seems like he expected to trap Jesus by getting him to say something controversial. Jesus’ response shows that Jesus is calling us back to our simple foundations. The first foundation is this - Love God.

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 22

“Heart,” “soul,” and “mind” do not represent rigid compartments of human existence but rather together refer to the whole person.

“Every Christian would agree that a man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

This love implies keeping all of the other commands. It is like God is telling us, rather than focus on all of the secondary commands, focus on loving me and everything else will begin to fall into place.

“Love and do what you will.”

-- Augustine

Why is this the first commandment?

The commandment to love God comes first because of who God is. He is the author of everyone and everything. He is the most important thing there is, so our relationship to Him is the most important thing there is in any of our individual lives.

This is the first and greatest commandment because, as Martin Luther taught, it is impossible to break any of the other commandments without first breaking this one.

What gives God the right to ask this of us?

God can command us to love Him because of what He has done.

When we realize and remember alll of the ways God has loved us and continues to love us, loving Him with our whole being is the only rational response. When our love for Him arises as a response to His great love for us, this commandment is not a burden at all.

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love because he first loved us.

Love Your Neighbours

1 John 4:20–21 ESV

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Luke 10:25–37 ESV

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

“The light that shines farthest shines brightest nearest home.”

― C.T. Studd

How can the church be so good at sending missionaries across the ocean and yet so lousy at sending them across the street?

Pray For Your Enemies

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.”

― G.K. Chesterton

Matthew 5:43–44 ESV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

We live in a very divided and polarized time. Many Christians have been caught up in fighting a culture war for years. One of the problems with this is that in a war, your goal is to conquer and defeat your enemy. This posture is at odds with Christianity, which calls us simply to love our enemies.

The first and most basic expression of love for our enemies is to pray for them.

If someone you loved asked you to pray for them would you do it? Of course you would. What if Jesus himself gave you a prayer request? Well he has! He has requested prayer for the people you see as your enemies.

A Simple Faith for a Complicated Time

We live in a complicated, complex age. Our society faces many complex problems which defy simple solutions. What a relief it is to realize that our deepest problem has a very simple solution.

Now, I don’t mean a simplistic solution. I am not advocating for a childish response that may give us temporary and short lived comfort but will ultimately be of no use.

Our faith has the simplicity of a razor blade. A razor is a very simple thing. It is a piece of metal that is sharpened to its finest point. If we try to improve upon it, we will only ruin it. But a simple razor can do some amazingly complex good.

This is a relief! There are not many complicated tasks for us to learn and master if we wish to be spiritual people who make a positive and lasting difference. We can let go of the burden of unrealistic expectations and embrace the simplicity of loving God, loving our neighbours, and praying for our enemies.