Seek First...

It has been a while since I've written anything of substance. This usually means that my life is out of control and I'm overwhelmed to the point that writing has become a chore. Well, these last couple of weeks have been no exception. With Vacation Bible School (of which my wife was in charge, thus sharing her stress with me), my recent sermon for the congregation (to which I am still not accustomed), the process of moving into our new little house, and the beginning of the summer season on top of my usually busy schedule, it has been difficult to find space away from distraction to actually develop or process some thoughts. The best I can do here is simply to say that I am learning.

I am learning... or relearning... that in the complexity of life and in the overwhelming layers of questions and circumstances there is really a great simplicity in life. I often get overwhelmed when I think about all the things I wish I could teach my Jr. High and High School students. I get light-headed when I think about all that they have to deal with and all that I wish I could help them understand or overcome, but the liberating fact of it all is this: "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

We could spend all our time sifting through every layer of the complexity of life, desperately reaching to grasp it all or we could simply devote ourselves to one thing, one commitment, one allegiance and everything else will come together. We could rack ourselves in noisy lives or we could, as the author of 1 Thessalonians put it, make it our ambition to "lead a quiet life" (1 Thess 4:11).

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