Keep it simple

My dad in conversation would at times use that military saying: K.I.S.S. : Keep it simple stupid. I was thinking of that this morning, when i was reading my D. Bonhoeffer devotional:

It is not Christ who has to justify himself before the world by acknowledging the values of justice, truth, and freedom. Instead, it is these values that find themselves in need of justification, and their justification is Jesus Christ alone. It is not a "Christian culture" that still has to make the name of Jesus Christ acceptable to the world; instead, the crucified Christ has become the refuge, justification, protection, and claim for these highter values and their defenders who have been made to suffer. It is with Christ, persecuted and suffering together with his church-community, that justice, truth, humanity, and freedom seek refuge. It is the Christ who is unable to find shelter in the world, who is the sheter to whom one flees for protection; only thus is the full breadth of Christ's power revealed.

I am not in the habit of listening to classical music, but the last two days, I have been listening to Handel's Messiah. Get this: Handel wrote it in 24 days!! Can you imagine?

I have two favorite sections: One, the chorus section named, "Lift up your heads", where the chorus is singing the Psalm, "Lift up you gates, so the King of Glory can come in. Who is the King of Glory? He is the Lord of Hosts!!!"

The second is a movement entitled "For unto us a child is born", singing the scripture of Isaiah: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the Government shall be upon His shoulders. And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

You may wonder why I am linking Bonhoeffer and Handel together this morning. I think in these two artistic expressions, I loved the simplicity of resting all focus on Jesus Himself. In our world, where self help books, the likes of "Your best life now", busy schedules, the worries of the world, our search for Him through intellectualism, trying to understand the innerworking of ourselves and everything else.... All of the mess that we fill our lives with.... That perhaps for a moment I would not focus on how He has blessed us, or how He has not blessed us...

But simply that He is. And He is worthy.