Simply Like Jesus

"I made all this! I own all this!" God's Decree. "But there is something I'm looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say." Isaiah 66:2 (The Message)

The Message Bible interchanges the word "humble" with "simple".  I do believe this is simply divine.  God desires us to be simple before Him, not simple-minded but simple-hearted. A simple- minded person lacks wisdom. On the other hand, someone who is simple-hearted personifies Godly wisdom, living simply to please God just as Jesus did - free of deceit and sincere.  Jesus simply obeyed God.

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously— take God seriously. Micah 6:8 (The Message)

Simply living for God by following in Jesus’ steps means we walk in love, loyalty, compassion and fairness. Furthermore, our identity does not stand on who we are and what we have done, but who God, Our Father, is.

Once becoming a Christian, many people often ask, “How do I live now?”  However, it is not complex.

The answer's simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements. This is how you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live. Isaiah 33:15 (The Message)

Unfortunately, far too frequently, we take our guidance from the world and therefore, we are led astray.  Our standard of living as Christians fall way below the bar, yet we stay living in compromise in order to satisfy ourselves and please those around us.  We lie to look good; exploit to feel powerful; take bribes to wield our authority; give bribes to expedite our affairs; assume a posture of hostility so that no one messes with us; and amuse ourselves with all sorts of pleasures thus, abandoning the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed. Matthew 4:19-20 (The Message)

Jesus wants us to have experiences that are above and beyond anything we could ever imagine. But, these amazing God incidences in our lives come when we follow Jesus, simply leaving behind our comfort zones which we have crafted for ourselves.  Knowing our designated design for our lives, often fall short of the creativeness of Our Creator, we must simply live for Jesus.

Oswald Chamber’s thoughts on living simply in Utmost for His Highest are profound, although simple.

A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field . . .” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed “the cares of this world” to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the “much more” of our heavenly Father.

We fail to understand Jesus because we aren’t simple enough.  We lack right relationship and intimacy with Our Father, because we come before Him with puffed up pride.  Then, we wonder why our prayers aren’t answered and so go in search for our own answers, which honestly are usually not simple.  Our approach needs to be different.

[Pray with Simplicity] "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. Matthew 6:5 (The Message)

I am thankful for God’s grace which is more than sufficient for all of us.  It’s His grace that keeps us whether we know it or not.  Our complexities cause confusion and we contrive chaos in our lives.  Consequently, we run to God pleading for Him to fix or failures when all He said to us in the first place was simply to “be like a little child”(Mark 10:15) – His child.

Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. Matthew 18:4 (The Message)

It is time for us to stop forfeiting our Kingdom rights by giving up our childish ways, and instead live in childlike simplicity and be Simply Like Jesus.