Simply Seeking Simplicity
As a veteran and a simple man, all of life needs to be simple (to me). The military life has simplicity to it. Everything is done ‘by the numbers’. There is a manual for everything and everything is broken down into simple numbered steps. Many years of that have left an indelible imprint. Life’s daily routines are broken down ‘by the numbers’.
(Instant) Coffee is a simple example.
Step one: heat water.
Step two: add cream.
Step three: add sugar.
Step four: add instant coffee.
Step five: stir.
Step six: drink. (Some may question the order one adds the ingredients, but years of practice have determined that this order results in less clumping of powdered cream.)
Like following a recipe, things are simplest when done in an orderly (by the numbers) fashion. Recently we have done a number of articles about developing a Christ-like attitude. The question is, “Is it possible to ‘reduce’ this into a numbered sequence like a recipe?” The answer is yes. Bear in mind that life is not a recipe. Life is a journey to be lived. What we are really asking, “Are there steps that one can practice to become more Christ-like.” The answer again is yes. Keeping in mind that it is an attitude followed by an action. Like proficiency in anything, it requires dedication, disciple and practice.
There is the old phrase, “It is like riding a bike. Once learned, never forgotten.” Reality is a little harsher. The fact is many skills are perishable. That is, if there is no practice, proficiency suffers. Developing a Christ-like attitude is a perishable skill. If one does not practice it daily, then one unlearns how to do it. Alternatively, the more one practices, the better one becomes at it.
So what are the numbers? To figure that out, we need to look at the characteristics of a Christ-like attitude. Previous articles talked about “Being about my Father’s business.” [1]
The first step is simple obedience. John 2:5 “His [Jesus’] mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”” Whatever Jesus tells us to do, that is what we need to do. There is an exclamation to that. Obedience is proactive. It says, “Whatever He says -do.” It does not say, “Watch, read, think, allow” - it says, “DO!”
We must obey, yes, but how must we obey? The second step is understanding how to be obedient. Jesus, in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (Matt. 6-19) uses the phrase “Hallowed be your Name” in reference to God. Hank Hanegraaff, in his book, “The Prayer of Jesus” tells us what that means. “To pray ‘Hallowed be your Name’ is to put the emphasis on God first, exactly where it belongs.” “…is to pray that God be given the unique reverence His holiness demands;” God deserves that our obedience be reverent. 1 Corinthians 10:31 sums it up, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Think that through. Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. One could easily ask, “How do I eat to the glory of God?” Ask yourself, if God were sitting at the dinner table with you, how would you eat? There would be a blessing; people would be polite and generous, ‘minding their manners’. No one would overeat or drink too much. Conversation would edify. “How was the day, dear?” “I tell you my boss was a real a--!” Think again. “God tested me at work today with a really uncomfortable position with my boss. I did not handle it well.” Alternatively, “God tested me today with my boss, and I remembered, ‘A soft answer turns away wrath’, what a blessing.” There is a real difference in adopting a Christ-like attitude when one tries to do everything “to the Glory of God.” (Try it sometime - consciously invite God to dinner. Presupposing one has invited Him into their heart; why not invite Him into the house for dinner? (He will not eat much.))
The third step is duty. Before He left, Jesus gave us our ‘marching orders’. Mark 16:15-16, Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 24:46-47 all contain the same command. Preach the Gospel. Again, being obedient, and doing all to the glory of God, how do we preach the Gospel? Paul tells us what our attitude should be in doing our duty. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16. Is one ashamed to preach the gospel? One could ask that question differently. Is one willing to preach the gospel - anywhere they happen to be? There have certainly been places and times when embarrassment would keep this voice silent. There have been occasions when applying the title ‘Christian’ would have been cause to climb under the table and hide.
A person, obedient, giving glory to God in everything, would not be in a position to be ashamed. If one would be ashamed to look at the person next to them and share the gospel of salvation - they have the wrong attitude, they are behaving inappropriately, or they are in the wrong place (All of the above?). After reacting to the person that just cut one off in traffic, would one share the gospel with them? Why not? Preaching the gospel is our duty, but it is also our privilege. Try to think of it like this, the rest of eternity may be uncertain for the person next to us, and it is our privilege possibly to make a difference.
Knowing to be obedient, trying to do all to the glory of God, and spreading the gospel message are the three key elements of what it means to have a Christ-like attitude. How do we know how to be obedient, glorify, and share? Acts 17:11 says, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” The key here is ‘searched the Scriptures daily’. The fourth step is simply to study the Word. The last part of Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “And there is nothing new under the sun.” There is an answer in the Bible for any situation one can face. It does not matter whether it is politics to finance to romance to indigestion. There is an answer for all of life in the Book. By studying the scriptures daily, one not only learns those answers, but also can begin to live them.
That is the Christ-like attitude of being ‘about my Father’s business’ ‘by the numbers’. (1) Obediently, (2) glorifying God, (3) sharing the Gospel and (4) studying the Word to get better at obediently glorifying and sharing. Practice makes ‘perfect’.
[1] The verses here are in some previous articles. It is quite simple; this is the essence of developing a Christ-like attitude. These four verses tell us how to be Christ-like and how to be ‘on fire’ for Him - driven with a passion that humbly accepts any assignment and to live a life pleasing to God.
(Instant) Coffee is a simple example.
Step one: heat water.
Step two: add cream.
Step three: add sugar.
Step four: add instant coffee.
Step five: stir.
Step six: drink. (Some may question the order one adds the ingredients, but years of practice have determined that this order results in less clumping of powdered cream.)
Like following a recipe, things are simplest when done in an orderly (by the numbers) fashion. Recently we have done a number of articles about developing a Christ-like attitude. The question is, “Is it possible to ‘reduce’ this into a numbered sequence like a recipe?” The answer is yes. Bear in mind that life is not a recipe. Life is a journey to be lived. What we are really asking, “Are there steps that one can practice to become more Christ-like.” The answer again is yes. Keeping in mind that it is an attitude followed by an action. Like proficiency in anything, it requires dedication, disciple and practice.
There is the old phrase, “It is like riding a bike. Once learned, never forgotten.” Reality is a little harsher. The fact is many skills are perishable. That is, if there is no practice, proficiency suffers. Developing a Christ-like attitude is a perishable skill. If one does not practice it daily, then one unlearns how to do it. Alternatively, the more one practices, the better one becomes at it.
So what are the numbers? To figure that out, we need to look at the characteristics of a Christ-like attitude. Previous articles talked about “Being about my Father’s business.” [1]
The first step is simple obedience. John 2:5 “His [Jesus’] mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”” Whatever Jesus tells us to do, that is what we need to do. There is an exclamation to that. Obedience is proactive. It says, “Whatever He says -do.” It does not say, “Watch, read, think, allow” - it says, “DO!”
We must obey, yes, but how must we obey? The second step is understanding how to be obedient. Jesus, in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (Matt. 6-19) uses the phrase “Hallowed be your Name” in reference to God. Hank Hanegraaff, in his book, “The Prayer of Jesus” tells us what that means. “To pray ‘Hallowed be your Name’ is to put the emphasis on God first, exactly where it belongs.” “…is to pray that God be given the unique reverence His holiness demands;” God deserves that our obedience be reverent. 1 Corinthians 10:31 sums it up, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Think that through. Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. One could easily ask, “How do I eat to the glory of God?” Ask yourself, if God were sitting at the dinner table with you, how would you eat? There would be a blessing; people would be polite and generous, ‘minding their manners’. No one would overeat or drink too much. Conversation would edify. “How was the day, dear?” “I tell you my boss was a real a--!” Think again. “God tested me at work today with a really uncomfortable position with my boss. I did not handle it well.” Alternatively, “God tested me today with my boss, and I remembered, ‘A soft answer turns away wrath’, what a blessing.” There is a real difference in adopting a Christ-like attitude when one tries to do everything “to the Glory of God.” (Try it sometime - consciously invite God to dinner. Presupposing one has invited Him into their heart; why not invite Him into the house for dinner? (He will not eat much.))
The third step is duty. Before He left, Jesus gave us our ‘marching orders’. Mark 16:15-16, Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 24:46-47 all contain the same command. Preach the Gospel. Again, being obedient, and doing all to the glory of God, how do we preach the Gospel? Paul tells us what our attitude should be in doing our duty. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16. Is one ashamed to preach the gospel? One could ask that question differently. Is one willing to preach the gospel - anywhere they happen to be? There have certainly been places and times when embarrassment would keep this voice silent. There have been occasions when applying the title ‘Christian’ would have been cause to climb under the table and hide.
A person, obedient, giving glory to God in everything, would not be in a position to be ashamed. If one would be ashamed to look at the person next to them and share the gospel of salvation - they have the wrong attitude, they are behaving inappropriately, or they are in the wrong place (All of the above?). After reacting to the person that just cut one off in traffic, would one share the gospel with them? Why not? Preaching the gospel is our duty, but it is also our privilege. Try to think of it like this, the rest of eternity may be uncertain for the person next to us, and it is our privilege possibly to make a difference.
Knowing to be obedient, trying to do all to the glory of God, and spreading the gospel message are the three key elements of what it means to have a Christ-like attitude. How do we know how to be obedient, glorify, and share? Acts 17:11 says, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” The key here is ‘searched the Scriptures daily’. The fourth step is simply to study the Word. The last part of Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “And there is nothing new under the sun.” There is an answer in the Bible for any situation one can face. It does not matter whether it is politics to finance to romance to indigestion. There is an answer for all of life in the Book. By studying the scriptures daily, one not only learns those answers, but also can begin to live them.
That is the Christ-like attitude of being ‘about my Father’s business’ ‘by the numbers’. (1) Obediently, (2) glorifying God, (3) sharing the Gospel and (4) studying the Word to get better at obediently glorifying and sharing. Practice makes ‘perfect’.
[1] The verses here are in some previous articles. It is quite simple; this is the essence of developing a Christ-like attitude. These four verses tell us how to be Christ-like and how to be ‘on fire’ for Him - driven with a passion that humbly accepts any assignment and to live a life pleasing to God.
posted by Unchained Slave at 11:20 AM
1 Comments:
I think so many young Christians take a look at an older, sincere Christian and can actually become discouraged. (The devil is lying to them of course). But there is still a point to it. They see the 'product' in an advanced form and despair of getting their own life to that point. But as you pointed out, it's just a question of discipline that starts with the basics. Excellent post!
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