Simplicity

I can easily make things in life so completely complicated that I drown out a healthy dose of rest and simplicity. As I was praying this morning, I was reminded of the simplicity of Jesus' words and stories. I was also drawn back to the simplicity of just knowing him and being with him.

There's a story in the Bible about two women, Mary & Martha. So, Jesus goes to their house, and once Jesus sits down, Mary goes to hang out with him while Martha is still scurrying around the house trying to tidy things up. Jesus tells Martha, "Hey, you should just chill with us, like Mary's doing." At least, that's the story in a nutshell.

There are countless times in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) where you can find stuff like, "Jesus walked out of the woods to come be with his disciples, or Jesus went out to pray all by himself in a natural setting, or Jesus went to be by himself to pray. All of these things were hitting me and I thought:

The best thing I can do for myself or anyone else in life, is to simply be with God.

I did this painting a while back, and I was drawn to a lot of symbolism in it. The sheep, the shadow of the trees, the lock (door) and the wood, as well as the map. All of which are Biblical references to one's journey not only to Salvation but through Sanctification as well. Which is a little funny to use those terms when it's a picture of a bunch of sheep. Ah well.