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(Foundations – Part 1)
The juxtaposition of my 2-word title presents as accurate a picture of my life in Christ as any ever could!
Simple: easily understood; presenting no difficulty; plain; basic; uncomplicated in form, nature or design; without much decoration or ornamentation.
Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something
Only in hindsight does my faith look simple. The older I get, the less complicated I need things to be. Hence, this new Foundations series.
For too many years I have shied away from writing about God as I feel prompted again to do. Mainly, I have been afraid of all that I don’t know. What if someone asks a question I don’t know or don’t have an answer for? What if I misrepresent God in some kind of way? What if my understanding of something the Bible says is not complete and changes later on? These questions and a thousand others have kept my boldness at bay for too long! Obviously I will never know EVERYTHING so it is time to stop letting what I don’t know keep me from sharing what I do know!
The purpose of Foundations:
– to solidify my own beliefs, why I believe them and how they shape my perspectives of this world and
form the life I live
– to present my faith in simplest terms
– as an act of obedience as I believe the Holy Spirit has prompted me to write
Doing things on purpose naturally creates resistance to things that don’t fit that purpose. Here are a few of those:
– I’m not here to argue, nor will I
– I’m not looking for your approval or agreeance
– I’m not trying to win you over or convince you of anything
If you find something in my posts that stirs your heart or makes you ask questions, AWESOME!! Follow the stirring! Ask the questions! How will you ever know if you don’t?!
On the other hand, if you find nothing here that appeals to you then just keep it moving and have a fantastic day! Sincerely.
Let’s get into it!
If I had to describe my faith with just one word it would be “simple”, especially the uncomplicated part of the definition. In fact, the more simple the picture, principle or teaching from the Bible, the more beautiful it is to me.
Simplicity tells me that whatever is being described is light at its core.
Light, as in not heavy.
Light, as in easily seen.
Light, as in illuminating what’s around it.
If something is simple it is strong and confident enough in itself to just be authentic, unworried about what others think, comfortable to just be unadorned.
Ironically there is a depth to simple that often surprises me. I chuckle sometimes at how we human beings complicate things in an attempt to find some sort of depth we don’t believe can be found in the simplest of ideas, concepts, perspectives. I will do my best to not do that here.
Ways of living this life are as numerous and varied as the people who live them and only an omniscient God could possibly weigh each person’s intent and sincerity so I will leave that to Him.
I believe and have put my faith in the narrative of the Bible. This includes, but is not limited to the reasons below:
– I live in and enjoy an active relationship with the triune God of the Bible. This relationship
expresses itself in 3 unique ways: I relate to Papa God differently than I relate to my Savior, Jesus
Christ and those 2 relationships differ from the one I have with my teacher-friend, the Holy Spirit.
– The 3 have proven Their existence, Their genuine interest in the details of my life and Their goodness
to me in hundreds of ways throughout my 52 years of pursuit.
– This narrative simply makes sense! Yes, this is legitimately one of the reasons I believe. Without
exception, it makes sense of every scenario I apply it to and usually in its most basic, simple terms.
– And the clencher for me: Even if I get to the end of this life and it was all a farce, I LOSE NOTHING!
I can say with utter confidence that I have not been asked to give up anything so that I can live
according to God’s word that has resulted in me feeling any sort of lack. Think of it: even if I’m wrong,
I still WIN!!!! If I die after I have lived this life as Jesus did to the best of my ability then I will die being
remembered as a kind, authentic and forgiving person who lived for something beyond herself,
a woman who left the judging to Someone she believed was far better qualified to do that job. I dare
you to name another thing on this earth that works this well! Go ahead, I’ll wait. 😉
I imagine, but don’t know for sure, that each and every human who has or will ever exist must, at some point choose how and what they will live for. Be it money, attention, love, success. Whatever forms each individual’s perspective of what it takes to win in this life. For some, I imagine life is simple and for others, complicated. For some, success is found in what you own or what you can leave for your children and grandchildren while for others, winning this life means they got through it without going to prison like their dad did or finishing college like their mama didn’t. Again, as numerous and varied as the people who live them out.
For me, I chose to live according to The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though I do it imperfectly, it is the path I have chosen and I am told it chose me back. 🙂 One of the reasons, though I didn’t know it at the time I chose it is because it is separate and apart from me. There is nothing I can add to or take away from the TRUTH of Jesus Christ and the bigger narrative He fits into. That affords me great comfort! The truth being the truth no matter what any of us do with it is the most comforting thing I have found on this earth…yes, THE MOST COMFORTING.
Why? I’m glad you asked 😉
It is comforting to me because everything else is always changing! As a child growing up, I never attended that same school more than 2 years in a row. Whether that meant we moved to a new state altogether or just rented a different house across town, my childhood was one of nearly constant change. Maybe that’s why I have a special affinity for schedules and routines and things that don’t change too often. But it could also be the reason I get restless when things stay the same for too long. Sheesh!
Let’s just put that last sentence on hold and come back to it later, shall we?
The part of me that likes consistency, LOVES the Gospel Truth for many reasons. Here are a couple:
– I didn’t make the rules or participate in its development. I just get to show up and do what I’m told.
– I don’t have to enforce it. I can literally just believe, apply it to my life and enjoy all its benefits.
– I’m not required to know EVERY SINGLE THING about it for it to “work” for me.
– It is separate and apart from me entirely and nothing I say or do can affect its efficacy.
It remains steadfast and TRUE, no matter how I may misrepresent it at times. It ALWAYS prevails.
In attempt to keep things SIMPLE, let’s end with the beginning – Foundation.
Why Foundations? Again, I’m glad you asked 😉
Without a firm, solid, steady, immovable foundation, whatever structure you are trying to erect will fall, eventually. Sure, you may build something that will last for a little while under perfect conditions but what happens when the inevitable storms of life come? What will happen to you when you hit harder times than what was happening when you poured the faulty foundation you now stand on?
Life has a way of revealing the steadfastness of what we have built our lives on thus far.
If things around you are beginning to sink, sway and sag, causing you to question the integrity of your foundational truths, or if life has been pretty good to you so far and you have just never had to think much about what your foundation consists of but this has made you think, then stick around, check back weekly and take a journey downward with me. Maybe we will both find bedrock when it’s all said and done.
And if not, thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day! Sincerely.
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