I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve made Christianity, and faith in general, way too complicated.  Which means we’ve made it hard for some people to understand, maybe many people, even those who’ve been brought up in the Christian faith tradition their entire lives.  I know a lifelong Christian who likes to say that Christianity is “a thinking man’s religion”; he also likes to say that there are no contradictions in today’s Bible.  This same person has devoted a good portion of his adult life to studying and teaching the Bible.  I believe you would certainly have to buy into that first assertion to begin to wrap your head around the second one, but I’ve decided they are both wrong.  Christianity is based on Jesus’ example of  the perfect Godly life.  He came to be that tangible example for us, which leads to the conclusion that a life lived in accordance with his example was supposed to be doable, at least theoretically.  He spent a good portion of his ministry telling stories, fables more or less, just to create very concrete, simple examples of what he wanted us to understand.

So it’s not complicated.  I have to say I wasn’t a big fan of the WWJD movement when it first started; I guess I thought it somehow trivialized Christianity, and all of the tradition behind it.  I’ve done my share of Bible study, and have always loved the liturgy that is part of traditional Protestant church services.  Even now I’d rather attend a traditional service than the more recent contemporary versions, just for the reminder of the tradition of the faith.  But now I think WWJD might have been a little too early for its time, is elegant in its simplicity, and what we should head back to ASAP.

Christianity really is quite simple – it had to be for basic humans, with all of our limitations, to grasp, and then to live.  Jesus summed it up when he said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  When asked to clarify neighbor, he gave us the timeless example of The Good Samaritan – just to make it clear what was being asked.  Those two commandments, and the explanation of exactly who our neighbor is, was all that needed to be understood, and followed.

 It’s simple, but it’s not easy.  It’s really hard at times – and that is also the point.  It requires the best of the gifts that our Creator gave us all – our hearts, and our minds – because the world is constantly evolving.  Our Creator made sure of it.  And so our faith has to continue to evolve with it. 

It’s not complicated.