Keeping it Simple, Part 1 

God's Love, Simply Divine 

     For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~Ephesians 3:14-19

     So I am currently reading that epic novel "War and Peace" by the late Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy.  There's so much I love in this diverse book, such as his questions as a professed Christian, his exploration into influences and the progressive journey, and his sardonic humor which is more delightful than offensive.  It has already become my favorite novel. 

     With that said I've noted that as I observe life, whether real life or a fictional story depicting real aspects of it, I can find myself seeing parallels in my progressive journey in Christ.  It is on that note that I share this excerpt from "War and Peace":

     "From that day when Pierre, after leaving the Rostov's with Natasha's look of gratitude still in mind, had gazed at the comet that appeared to be fixed in the sky and felt something new was beginning for him-from that day the besetting problem of the vanity and absurdity of all earthly things had ceased to trouble him.  That terrible question of "Why?  What for?" which till then had arisen in the midst of every occupation, was now replaced, not by another question or the answer to the former one, but by her image.  Whether he read or was told of human abasement or folly, he was not horrified as formerly, and did not ask himself why men struggled when all is so emphemeral and uncertain, but remembered her as he has last seen her, and all his doubts vanished-not that she answered the questions that confronted him, but because his vision of her instantly transported him to another, brighter realm of spiritual activity, where there could be neither right nor wrong, a realm of beauty and love that was worth living for."

     I know that as seen in the Light of Christ, or Jesus in the place of Natasha, there is wonderful truth there in regards to our relationship with the Lord, then others.  This is how we were meant to live...not by partaking of the knowledge of good and evil but enamored with our Heavenly Father and embodied with his life found by grace through faith in Jesus.  Everything else greatly pales in significance. 

     In closing, an excerpt from "Knowing God":

     "Our efforts to simplify God can often have the opposite effect of complicating Him for relationship itself is complex unless the two are fused as one. The simplicity of God is found in intimate relationship with Him and partaking of his life. God has communicated that simplicity in His Son, Jesus Christ. He was made to be broken bread and poured out wine so that we can partake of his life and be fused together with the Divine, two as one. It was a mission that went way beyond displaying God to us into joining our lives with His where we can encounter and experience Him. The experience transcends the complex and simplifies it in love. The God life is no longer a mirage before us but a real, life-changing experience."