This past Sunday, as part of the morning teaching time, I
used a simple illustration to communicate some important truth about life. I
actually used a number of them. I love illustrations. They don’t replace, nor
should they ever usurp the place of Scripture, but it’s hard to get around the
fact that Jesus used illustrations continuously. There is also the whole body
and tradition of the wisdom literature of Israel. Those writers drew constantly
upon the observable world around us (Creation) to illustrate the truth of numerous
life principles. The simple reason for this is that illustrations (good ones
anyway) help us in our understanding.
Life is complex, not simple. We used to think it was
simple. We used to think that a cell was a simple thing. But modern science, if
it has proved anything at all, has proved that life is complex. However, it has
been and continues to be the glory of what the Bible calls wisdom to make the
complex simple.
Charles Mingus is
credited with saying:
“Making the simple complicated is
commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's
creativity.”
Another version of Mingus’ words has it as,
“Making the simple
complex is easy. Making the complex
simple, awesomely simple, now THAT is genius.”
More recently, Steve Jobs highlighted the power of this precious
ability to simplify the complex.
“Simple can be harder
than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it
simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move
mountains.”
So, how do we do that? I think one way (following the
examples in Scripture) is to recognize patterns or systems in nature that bring
order and balance to life. Life in this world consists of a seemingly limitless
number of activities and experiences and needs and wants and so on, all
interconnected somehow and interdependent. But when we observe the created
world around us we observe a sense of order and harmony that is both inspiring
and instructive.
Even the things in nature that might appear random at first
glance turn out to be in fact intricate patterns. Patterns are created by
order, not chaos. There is no randomness to life. Life depends on organization.
Organisms are very thoughtfully and intentionally (‘fearfully and wonderfully’)
organized. Human beings are certainly no exception to the rule, each of us the
result of being ‘knit together’ in our mother’s womb. (Psa 139)
One of the examples I used this past Sunday was the simple
baking of a cake. In order to bake a cake you need to have the right amount of
the right ingredients in the right order and then you need to process them
correctly. Some things you exclude because they aren’t good ingredients for a
cake. In life, some ingredients you exclude because they aren’t good
ingredients for your life. But it's not just a matter of having the right ingredients. You have to have the right amounts of each. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. We need to
have just the right balance. Don’t work too much, play too much, rest too much
… but make sure you have the right amounts of each.
The order is important as well. I think most of us have
heard the story about the teacher fitting all of the big rocks and the little
rocks into the jar and how the secret is to put the big rocks in first. Establishing
our priorities first is a critical factor. And all of this too speaks to the
‘chemistry’ or interconnectedness of the different elements or aspects of life
and how each relates to the others and the interplay back and forth between the
different parts.
And, of course when you have the cake (or pie!) all made,
you get to slice it and eat it. And you can slice it anyway you want, but you
can’t have your cake and eat it too.
As complicated as life often feels, the answers to our
frustrations can often be something as simple baking a cake or slicing a pie. God
is good!
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