I have, for more than 25 years ago we sought to help Christians live more simple, separate and deliberate lives to the glory of God and for the building of His kingdom. I learned quickly how people were apt to respond to this expression. No one objects to deliberate. There is no faction of the church, or even outside the church that takes the view that we ought to act without thinking, that random is better than thoughtful. Separate freaks people out, mostly I fear because we love the world and want to be a part of it. Simple, however, simply puzzled people.
Some thought that a call to live more simple lives involved a commitment to agrarianism. But I’ve always insisted that simply simply means seeking to serve but one master, the Lord Jesus. Our lives, I argue, are tiring and complicated in large part because we don’t believe Jesus when He tells us that no one can serve two masters. When we destroy the idol of our day, the god of personal peace and affluence, we find blessing and simplicity.
There is, however, a second nuance to that commitment to simplicity. While I certainly love sound and rigorous theology, I’m also persuaded that our total depravity, the noetic effects of sin, have caused us to miss the power of some pretty obvious truths. One can, for instance, get so lost in the nuance of the truths of the Reformation, that they cease to be stunned by this simple truth, that Jesus died for sinners. At Dunamis we are passionate about helping Christians regain their passion for the glory of God’s grace toward us.
Consider then my title for this brief piece- God is good. If our principle mode of dealing with God is as an object of study, a locus where we demonstrate our own erudition, these three words, God is good, are banal, even tautological. Of course God is good. He is, after all, holy, set apart, the very Platonic ideal of every possible perfection. But, if we look at ourselves as sinners before we look at ourselves as scholars, these words take on a whole different meaning. They drive us to tears, rather than to yawns. These three small words carry with them the shocking truth that I am a sinner, that I rebel against the majestic glory of the living God, and that He, in turn, showers me, by name, with His tender love and care.
Now, you can put on your academic robe and take up a defense of theological academics. I don’t mind at all. Or, you can enter into simplicity by entering into gratitude, and rejoice that God is good. You can remember His goodness, kissing your wife, hugging your children, raising your arms in Lord’s Day worship, shocked and stunned that whatever else is going on around us, however bad the news might be, God is good. This changes everything. God is good. May He bless you all.