The Simply Complicated Truth

1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

v.26-29: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
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In this letter to a young church, Paul begins by addressing the report he has heard of disunity within the church. People have had leadership arguments, that they are followers of Paul, or Peter, or Apollos, or Jesus. Paul sets the record straight that Jesus Christ is the one Shepherd to follow, and he points back to the cross to illustrate why we follow Christ alone.

What unifies a church is that everyone agrees on who Jesus Christ is, and that there is no disagreement or disunity on that. Paul then talks about the power of the gospel message, and the wisdom in it’s truth. And then Paul asks the church to remind themselves that not many of them were of any significant stature before their activity in the church. The reason for this is similar to the cross, that God wants to use what is low and simple to show the world how wonderful he is.

The reason is simple: when humans chase after wisdom they complicate the truth.

As people, we are always in search of more. We are convinced that there is always something more, that there is a need to go beyond. This was the mission laid out in Star Trek (although, I’m by no means a Trekkie, or even a fan, so I may not know what I’m talking about. If that’s the case, I’m okay with it, because at least I’m not a Trekkie); the mission to push the frontier, to discover new worlds and create a better humanity through diversity.

I think there’s something noble to be said of this goal, but there’s also a great danger. Because God, who is ultimate truth, has ordained the simplest, weakest, even foolish things in the world to be the wisest things in the world. Specifically, Paul is speaking of the cross, but surely this applies on a larger scale as well.

It’s not necessarily that God chose this method for no reason. It’s because of sin and fallen humanity. In our fallen nature, it’s within us to depart from God and continue to move away from him throughout life. The beauty of God’s grace is that he has set simple things to bring us back to him. We don’t need to go out and seek and acquire loads of knowledge to arrive back at God’s feet. That’s what religion does.

But God has made it so that everyone and anyone can come back to him. It’s almost too simple and too good to be true; but would you really want it to be more complicated than that?

And so today I realize that this truth needs to be embraced in all areas of my life. I can be convinced that there’s more to God I need to know and seek out more “advanced” knowledge and education. This is good and healthy, but my sinful nature will eventually lead me to go beyond what is necessary. There are some core, simple truths God wants me to know about him and make them a central part of my life. When I go beyond that, things get complicated and I get confused and frustrated, and it’s not God’s fault; I stepped past the simplicity of what he wanted me to grasp.

I can do this in all areas of my life. I can overcomplicate my schedule, my priorities, my work, my responsibilities as a husband and father, my finances, my relationships with family and friends, my Facebook profile, etc.

In all these areas, there are things to learn and areas to grow in, but I won’t ever arrive at perfection. There are some core, simple truths that will help all these areas of my life thrive, and if I go beyond them, it was because I was somehow convinced that I had to.

The temptation is always to move away from God. The solution is to find the truth in simplicity and look to Christ. This isn’t to say that there’s hard work and serious thinking that needs to go into life. It is, in fact, hard work to arrive at this viewpoint. I’ve spent over 29 years figuring this out, and I’m still learning a ton. Somehow, even simplicity has become complicated in my world today. But I must find all truth in Jesus, for only in him are all the complex mysteries of God made fully manifest, coherent, and simple enough for a guy like me to understand.