It's as simple as that.

I have been thinking lately about something that is so extremely simple. The very core of the Bible, the very reason we have a church, the ONLY purpose we are even here on this earth. The Gospel.

I know people (my self included!) who spend hours, and ultimately days and weeks and months of their lives reading the Bible, learning from Christian books, sitting in study groups, listening to eloquent speakers. None of these things are bad and I have been challenged to grow by all of them. But sometimes I think we spend way too much time absorbing knowledge and marinating in good Christian “stuff”, that we lose sight of how simple one little nugget of truth is.

Here is the nugget in my less-than-eloquent words. We are all sinners: filthy, disgusting and totally undeserving of being in relationship with a holy, perfect God. But God loves us so much and wants us back in relationship with Him. And the only way that is possible is through a sacrifice. So God, in the form of a man named Jesus, came to earth and lived a sinless life and died in my place so that I can be in relationship with my Father, God. My only real purpose here on earth is to bring Him glory in all that I do and to tell as many people as possible about Him.

That’s it. As big and amazing as it is, it is beautifully simple.

I have to wonder what God thinks when he sees so many of His kids caught up in the pursuit of more knowledge. A well-written book on evangelism or a captivating speaker on serving the poor are only worthwhile if the reader or hearer is going to get out and do something afterwards!

Please don’t hear me saying to stop reading your Bible or reading other good books or even meeting in study groups. But I think we should all take a good look at our lives and see if these things are really changing who we are and pushing us to live for God and reach people and make disciples. Remember, the nugget is really simple. And if what I am doing is not totally wrapped around that little nugget, than doing those “good” things is really no different than sitting on my couch watching a sitcom or reading a totally secular novel.

I don’t want to even begin to claim to be getting this right. I have a really long way to grow. But my prayer right now is that I will begin to cling to the simple, amazing nugget of truth; and begin to let it shape not so much what I learn, but how I live.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:22-24)