Simplify

Matt.18:³ “Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

How would you describe your life at the moment – simple, complex, or simply complicated? Some people have simple careers, while others have complicated relationships and vice versa. For some the relationship with their spouse is simple but their relationship with their children is complicated. Yet for some their finances are complicated. Jesus lived a simple life and God wants us to learn from Jesus. It is my prayer that as we open our hearts and learn from Jesus over the next few days, God will help us reorganize our priorities. It is all about priorities really; so as God reorganizes our priorities, our lives will become void of complications. Then we will leave the simple lives that God has ordained for us to live.

Please read Matthew 8:18–22. Sometimes, when we read Jesus’ response to some people’s questions, we cannot help but wonder if Jesus really says those things, if He is that callous, or just plain antisocial, or does not want us to honor family commitments. In response to the teacher of religious law’s proposal to follow Jesus where He goes, Jesus more or less said, He did not have a house. But we know that Jesus had a house because it was His roof that was torn up to lower the paralyzed man that He healed. We also know that Jesus’ father had a house, he was a carpenter. We know that His mother had a house and Jesus Himself had a house. So the question is, what was Jesus saying? Jesus is saying, if you want to follow Him, you cannot hold on to anything. If you want to follow Jesus, you have to consider the things you think you have as not yours. Not just things, even relationships.

The man’s follow up question revealed this. The man said, ‘I want to go bury my father’. One of the strongest relationships is the one between a child and his or her father. True or false? It is an honor for a child to bury his father when he dies at a good old age. Burying the father is the relational duty of the son. But Jesus is saying we cannot hold onto even the closest relationships. Jesus is saying, “if you want to follow Me, you have to simplify your life”. You know Jesus is not saying we should not have a place to live. Rather Jesus is saying, do not hold onto the house and put it ahead of Him. Jesus is not saying we should not have relationships. He is saying we should not hold onto our relationships and put them ahead of Him.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I open my heart and life to You, teach me to simplify my life just like a child would, in Jesus Name. Amen!