I often read in the Bible that so and so travelled to such and such a place, and they taught for days and weeks in the synagogue or the town square or the amphitheatre or in the houses of believers. Inadvertently followed by something like “and many believed and followed them…”
…and I always think: What were they teaching?
I had an amazing talk yesterday about a complex theological issue, and we decided to go back to the basics, and start from there: Who is God, What did Jesus do, and what is needed to be saved.
It is the work of 2 minutes, and then the inevitable question:
“…and?”
and nothing. That is it.
Sure, there are a lot of extras, but it is not the heart of the matter.
Here is an apple.
What do I do with it?
You eat it, and it will sustain you.
Yes, you can bake with it.
Yes, you can make juice with it.
Yes, you can feed the skins and cores to the chickens.
Yes, you can trade with it.
Yes, you can… Yes, you can… Yes, you can…
(It’s like the shrimp scene in the movie “Forest Gump” 😁)
You can do a lot with an apple, but you don’t need to… nothing extra is really required.
In one of those events I mentioned earlier, Paul was in Athens, a place littered with idols and places of worship to all kinds of gods and deities, and he was asked to speak to the leaders and explain his teaching, and the part of his discussion that is recorded in the new testament caught me today.
Paul talks about how God created life, seasons and borders, and then explains:
“He has done this so that every person would long for God, feel their way to him, and find him—for He is the God who is easy to discover!“
(Acts 17:27 TPT)
Maybe it’s the wrong picture, but what popped into my mind when I read that verse was me feeling my way in a dark room and stubbing my pinkie toe on a piece of furniture. God is that easy to find!
He is right there! and has been there this whole time. Never hidden away from us… easy to find.
I think, sometimes I want to complicate things. I mean, gaining eternal life, and access to the throneroom of The King must take a bit more effort, shouldn’t it? Shouldn’t there at least be a quest? A monster to slay? A mountain to climb?
And yet, it’s closer to sitting down next to someone on a park bench and as simple as starting a conversation… “How are you today?”
God is easy to find. What a truth!
Spend some time face-to-face with God, today!
