It's complicated...

The world we live in seems fairly complex. We have devices connecting us to the immensity that is the World Wide Web. We have robots doing a multitude of jobs, from the simple and repetitive, to the complicated and even dangerous. We have televisions bringing LIVE pictures/videos from across the globe (and beyond... if you believe the moon landing really happened on the moon...).

Stepping back (or stepping closer, sometimes) might reveal something surprising to many: All of the complexity in this world is built on fundamental, simple, basic mechanisms. Yes. The complexities of life can be boiled down to something a child can understand and use.

The device you're reading this blog post on, whether it's a laptop or a smartphone, uses a binary system that translates and transmits data into a sequence of 1's and 0's. That's it. Every internet picture you've seen, video you've watched, message you've read is nothing more than a long succession of 1's and 0's. (Even if you're reading a printout version of this blog, the computer and printer used to make the hardcopy used the same system). Two digits is all it takes.

Every robot ever made, however complex its task, used the same basic mechanisms that has been in used in the natural world since the world began: the lever, the wheel and axle, the inclined plane, the wedge, the pulley, and the screw. All movement and power transfer happens by these mechanisms and variants thereof. That's it. Nothing special. It's nothing more than a couple of children's toys, in effect.

Understanding this makes the world a tiny bit less complex, I feel. And looking at something like Christianity and Christian doctrine in the same way makes it seem less intimidating. If we keep in mind that Jesus never intended for His ministry and His teaching to only be accessible to learned and intelligent folk, but to all people, we can take heart that all of us should be able to understand it and live by it. No matter our age, background, intellectual capacity, theological training, or however else we want to measure ourselves.

What, then, is so simple about the Good News of Jesus Christ that little children gets it more easily than adults? Micah 6:8 puts it very simply:

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Jesus goes one step further and summarises the 613 Commandments of the Jewish Law into two things: Love God and love your neighbour.

That is all. It really is that simple. It only becomes complicated as we try and interpret these basic, Godly principles in creative ways for every interaction we have with God and other people. Context, culture, age and age-difference, social status, religion, world view, and so many other variables make it impossible to have one set of rules that covers every circumstance. Every person is unique. Every situation is unique. Therefore every interaction, every opportunity to love is unique.

I recall a moment outside a pizza shop in South Africa one Friday night. I was waiting outside the store for my order to be finished when a dirty, smelly, homeless man sat down at the table opposite me. I ignored him as best I could. A father and his daughter, who had Downs Syndrome, arrived, ordered and made their way to their car, when the little girl of about 8 turned around, ran up to the homeless man and gave him a big, friendly hug. Her father and I just looked on as she showed love in a truly simple, basic, yet effective way.

May you get to know God's unconditional love for you today. And may the knowledge and experience of this love drive you to love Him back by loving those around you.