Life today is complex. You and I are inundated. We are faced with choices that extend out as far as we can see and even beyond. The options, alternatives, and possibilities are endless! In the moment we gain control, something hits us from the blind side and we spin out of control. Loyalty, absolutes, and guarantees seem to be things that only existed in a world before the one we know.
The call to simplicity, if only for a vacation, is powerful. I have found myself longing for a quiet beach, a simple lifestyle found on a ranch beyond the reach of a cell phone, or the stillness making itself at home in the California Redwoods. Life seems to be different in these locales. God is present, more than in the complex busyness of the ordinary day. Life is real, juxtaposed with the artificial games we often find ourselves in. Even decisions simplify themselves, finally freed of the world’s criteria for success.
It is interesting how difficult I have made things for myself. In fairness to everyone, myself included, we do not often struggle with the idea of truth. We take it for granted. We assume it is here, somewhere. We push on, struggling to be in the game we find ourselves. Even when others present the call (as they did in my life on several occasions), we cling to our understanding of truth’s reality.
I find myself challenging old truths. Life is not as complex as I saw it. Yes, there are lots of variables and options. Yes, you and I are inundated. Yes, it is overwhelming. However, there is an underlying truth to life itself.
Foundationally, “It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you're from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open.” (Acts 10.34, 35) God commands are compassion, mercy, and above all love. I hold these truths in my heart, taking one step at a time, living engaged with Divinity.