Day
11.. Quiet Simplicity
Bible
verse:
Then a teacher of the law came to
him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of
the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Matthew 8:19-20
I
must admit I did not understand this verse at all when I first read it. It was at that point I stopped and prayed for
God to open my mind to His teaching and help me to understand. Well, not only
did He do that, but it also opened the flood gates to other thoughts too.
In
the reading for today the author talks about spending several years on mission
trips with his wife, son, Brent, and students from the University where he
worked. They traveled to Central
America, the Caribbean and South America.
It was their son whom at the age of nine truly understood the meaning of
quiet simplicity. For Christmas he asked
for nothing, because he realized that he already had much more than his friends
had in the countries where they had gone on mission trips. The author further explains that Brent, his
son, knew exactly what he was doing. He
made the choice of simplicity, and this choice was reinforced later on in his
life while he was a college student spending a summer in India.
I’m
going to jump to the end of the reading for a moment as I feel it is important
to say this early. Neither the author
nor I can tell anyone what “quiet simplicity” means to any of you. In this particular lesson he centers
simplicity on material things. This is
when meaning and understanding of the Bible verse hit home for me. Jesus did not own many possessions and
therefore had no place to lay his head.
He did not own a home, nor did he have all of the things that go along
with that, dishes, linens, furniture, nothing.
Think about that for a moment…. He called no place home in this material
world because his home was with his Father in Heaven. Wow!
Jesus said in Matthew 6: 19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasurers
on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves
treasurers in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do
not break in and steal. For
where your treasurer is, there your heart will be also.”
Today’s
reading also speaks about fasting. “Jesus did not specify how often or how long
we should fast; He did not want us to legalize the practice” (Moore,
p.59). He wanted us to view t as a
privilege. A way to grow closer to God
and to abstain from whatever item had a hold on us. Our desire is to hunger as much for God as we
do for food, or things.
Practicing
quiet simplicity helps us stay centered on what is most important. It is a practical way to keep Christ and His
kingdom at the top of our treasure list.
As we do it, we will find it to be another way to meet Christ and give
our love to Him.
Remember: Keep life simple.
God
Bless!
My apologies for the slight delay, the internet was down at the house this morning. Have a blessed day everyone! :-)
ReplyDeleteAh, sweet simplicity. I appreciate that the author doesn't try to dictate to us what simplicity in all its' various forms ought to look like in our lives. Material simplicity is concrete, and perhaps the easiest to talk about, and so it makes sense he would use that as an example. I wonder if we think about applying the principles of simplicity to our hearts, minds, emotions, relationships, and time? Do we think about simplicity as it relates to daily routines, such as cooking and eating, grooming, exercising, working, laundry...the list is endless. Applying principles of simplicity across the swath of one's life is so FREEING. Try it - you'll like it!
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