Making It Complicated

Our Bible study group is listening for the voice of God. Sounds intriguing and a little out there, doesn’t it? It’s funny that we don’t hesitate to use the words “supernatural” and “mystical” to describe the dark arts. But growing up in a 1950’s Southern Baptist church, I was not encouraged in any way to step outside our flannel-board Sunday School box.

But God Almighty is most certainly supernatural, powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent – in short, awesome. To think that He might be interested in whispering to my heart thrills me no end. We are studying “Discerning the Voice of God” by Priscilla Shirer. And we are learning that God does speak but that we must prepare ourselves to hear Him.

Today we talked about seeking His will in our lives. And a very wise young woman said, “It seems to me that He just wants us to love him. And that if we seek a relationship with Him and love Him, the rest will come. We will be in His will and He will guide and use our decisions to His glory.” (Even though I’ve used quotes, I’m sure those weren’t the exact words, but close.)

So here I sit on my back porch, talking to Him and most certainly loving Him. And it seems too simple and way too easy. Because He is easy to love, isn’t He? And I think, this can’t be it. What about Bible study, and works, and memorizing Scripture, and loving others better than myself, and all that instruction I receive and notes I take and reading I do? Can it be that easy?

And I rebel against that...

Outside the corner of my porch stands a very large holly tree, tall as our house. It used to literally hug the screened porch. I love the tree but I hated the fact that it seemed to be depositing creepy crawlies onto my porch.

So when we had the porch glassed in and the construction guys told me a little nervously that they had to cut it way back, I was all for it. They assured me it would remain healthy and it has. They also assured me that it would grow back and it has not. But that’s okay!

Have you ever seen a kid’s ant farm? That kind of cross section of dirt where you can watch them work? That’s what my holly looks like. If you stand in my back yard and look toward the porch, you see a nice round holly. If you sit where I’m sitting, you see half a tree, almost as if it’s been cut top to bottom right down the middle.

As a result, I can watch a multitude of little birds of all kinds who live in its branches. And that’s exactly what made me understand why this “love” situation with God is hard for me to accept. It's too much! I sit here and I enjoy the peace, the wind chimes, the quiet and the birds and I talk to God. And I am amazed and grateful that He has provided this for me. And all He asks in return is that I love Him.

So I will continue to pursue this precious time with Him and wonder that He could love me so much. He really is all I need.

Matthew 22:36-38
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.”