Loving God: Is it really this easy?

I had a bass lesson a while back. The previous week, I had been given a progression of a few minor chords and asked to prepare a jazz solo based on the dorian mode. I worked my butt off coming up with something to play. And, since I'm primarily a melodic player, I came up with a really catchy riff to build the solo around that flowed really nicely. When lesson time came, I played the riffs, then started adding and building off of the motive, carefully demonstrating my ability to play on different positions of the neck. I thought that I was doing pretty well when, not too long into the solo, my instructor stopped me and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're trying way too hard!". I was pretty shocked because I honestly don't know another way to play -- practice your butt off until the technical skills are all there and play over progressions until something sticks and develop it. Sounds good, right?

Later on that same night I was sitting in our couples group. A buddy of mine had invited himself (he's the kind of guy who can do that and get away with it), and became pretty involved in the group discussion. He told of the financial and employment challenges that he's been facing and how God's used them to bring about some pretty amazing changes. Like me, he likes to dig into things while intellectually breaking them apart -- for both of us, it's how we can make sense of things. In our small group, he told us how he's been discovering a new faith in God, that following Christ doesn't have to be a difficult intellectual process. He said that it all came down to doing one very basic thing: loving God. That's it, nothing else. If you simply love God, everything else will naturally flow, automatically putting everything else in life into its proper place. In short, he said that I'm trying to hard.

Well darn. Can it really be that simple? Have I been spending my time pouring over Bible commentaries and position peices looking for something that's been right under my nose? I mean, how do you just love God anyway? My brain takes me right back to searching through Scripture to find out the answer, but that seems like I'd be spinning my wheels in the same direction again.

So how do I love God? Well, if I think of how I love my wife, I do things like make her coffee, start her car in the morning to warm it up, take things that are heavy to and from the car, things like that. I also spend time with her, talking and listening. If I was only to do things for her without the communication, I'm guessing that our relationship would get pretty dry in not too long. Conversely, if I was merely to spend time with her without doing things that demonstrate my love for her, I'd be taking advantage of her, turning it into a one way relationship. Spending time with her reminds me of why I'm doing things for her and doing things for her demonstrates my feelings. I'm guessing that it's the same with God -- spend time with Him and perform acts of service, for and because of Him. It doesn't really seem to me that one without the other would work for too long.

So this is my new focus in life -- focus on the basics and try to live a mentally more simple life. I may do a follow up in a bit to gauge my progress. Peace out!

Being like little children

I'm a pretty cynical guy. And, for the longest time, I've actually taken a bit of pride in my cynicism. As I continue to grow and work out my faith, I always do so with a critical eye, carefully watching to make sure study materials aren't too basic or that concepts don't resemble in anyway the perception that I've checked my brain at the door. I intentionally look for things that are "deeper" and more on the edge and am constantly looking at conservative Christian positions to find flaws or inconsistencies in positions.

Contrast that with a friend of mine. He's extremely intelligent and driven, but he can find meaning and application in just about anything. We, along with a small group of other men, get together every Wednesday morning to study what sometimes is some pretty basic material. Every single week, he's able to grab some sort of life application, walking away having learned something. And, when we first started meeting, I actually felt sorry for him. I mean, how could this individual possibly be that far along in his Christian walk when he is filled with so much wonder by such basic material?

Recently I've been thinking about Mark 10, specifically the section where Jesus comes down on his disciples for trying to get rid of the children that people were bringing to Him. I think about my daughters and, when they were younger, how innocent and filled with wonder they were. Sure, they don't know a heck of a lot and they don't have to deal with things like the sub prime mortgage crisis, a downward spiraling dollar or whether or not the guest room will be finished before the guests show up in a few weeks. They want to dress up, make up their hair and dream. They love watching Hannah Montana and wildly dancing without concern of their appearance. Then, I try to imagine taking their attitude in life and sitting right on Jesus's lap. They probably know that he's an important guy, but they'd be more interested in exploring his beard, hearing his jokes or hoping that He'll tickle them. They'd listen to his stories, watching the expressions change in his eyes and his mouth move as he speaks. They'd sit there and soak up the attention, feeling completely safe and at ease as he teaches life lessons.

Me? I'd probably approach him with a list of questions, subconsciously looking for clarification of an issue or any excuse for a debate. I probably wouldn't have gone there to learn, but to do battle. Wow.

So I think about my friend, how in spite of his intelligence, his maturity and his long history of living and learning with Christ, he still has the attitude of a child. Lately, I've been amazed as I watch his approach to some incredibly elementary principles of the Christian faith and I want to be like that. I want to be less smart and less critical and more filled with the wonder that comes from being easily awed. In short, I want to be more like a little child.