part of “uncomplicated”
If you looked up the word complicated in the dictionary the definition would be 2020. What a mess this year has been! It has been so complicated. First, everything shut down and we couldn’t go anywhere. This made things complicated at home because we felt trapped in our own houses. We were unable to go to work and that complicated financial obligations. This made school complicated because as parents we became the teachers and the students were also their own teachers. School was further complicated because now it is online and students had to figure out how to navigate this new way of learning. The parks were closed. The movie theaters were closed. The restaurants were closed. It has been one complicated year. As the year comes to a close, there have been a few changes in regards to the pandemic that we have been facing. But it doesn’t look like it is anywhere close to being over.
But at the end of the year, I choose a word and a verse to focus on for the year. I have done this since 2017. Over the years, God has given the words change, new, breakthrough, and love. This year God also gave me word. I was at a worship night at my church and the worship team sang a song by Hillsong Young & Free called “Uncomplicated”. As I sat there and listened to the song, which is about how God’s love is uncomplicated, I felt God tell me there is your word. I sat there for a second pondering why I felt God was giving me my word through the song I was listening to about His love. God had already given me the word love for 2020 and I knew that His love isn’t complicated. So I still wondered what He meant. Well, then I got my answer. I felt God say “no not the song - the word”. Then it was clear to me. The word is UNCOMPLICATED.
As I sat and continued to piece together what God was telling me, I was reminded of a story in the gospel of Luke. The story is in chapter 10 and is about Mary and her sister Martha. Jesus comes to visit them. While he is there, Martha is running all over the house doing all of the things that needed to be done in the kitchen. She even comes out to Jesus and complains that her sister isn’t helping that it is unfair for her to be just sitting there. Then Jesus told Martha the following words and these are the words God gave me that night:
“The Master said, ‘Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it...’” - Luke 10:41-42 MSG
This just jumped out at me. How many times do we just get going with all of the things that we have to do and we lose focus of what is really important. Martha was running around the kitchen doing all of these things that needed to be done, but the Savior of the word was sitting in her living room. She was missing Jesus! But Mary knew that there was a lot that needed to be done, but she also knew that she needed time with Jesus. So instead of wasting the time she had with Jesus, running all over doing things that could be done at another time, she sat at His feet hanging on every word Jesus said (Luke 10:39, MSG).
Also, Martha was missing time with her sister because she was busy. Martha could have been right there with Mary and Jesus enjoying time together and learning from Jesus. But she was busy, busy, busy.
We all have moments like this in life. We have things to get done and we are busy. Mary and Martha had things that needed to get done, but they were also things that could get done later. What things do we have that keep us busy and distract us from our family and friends? What things do we have that help us busy and distract us from Jesus? The things that can be done after the kids go to bed. The things that we could do later so we can help a friend who needs us. The things that fill up our minds when we are sitting in church or reading the Bible and distracts us from Jesus.
Jesus encouraged an uncomplicated way of life in this story. Jesus wasn’t saying that having things to do or getting things done was bad. He was saying to focus on what is important. Jesus understood that Mary and Martha were busy and He understands that we can get busy too. But He doesn’t want us to be too busy that we lose sight of what is important.
Jesus is also encouraging us to not focus on so many things at one time. Jesus tells Martha that she is “worried and upset about many things” (Luke 10:41, NLT). We can get focused on too many things and doing that can make things very complicated. We get focused on other people and what they are doing or not doing. We can get focused on all of the things that need to be done. We can get focused too far ahead and overwhelm ourselves. All this just makes everything complicated. But Jesus encouraged the opposite - uncomplicated. Jesus encouraged Martha to not fuss and worry about so much. He encouraged her to focus on one thing at a time. (In the story, the one thing was Jesus, but the principle is there.)
Jesus wants us to focus on one thing at a time. Jesus wants our life to be uncomplicated. Jesus wants us to have a good life and full life. Jesus doesn’t want us complicating our life by always being worried about things we can’t control or people that we can’t control. Jesus wants our life to be like His. Jesus knew what was important and He focused on that. Jesus' life was far from uncomplicated, but because of the way He lived and what He chose to focus on it was uncomplicated. Jesus tells us how life can be uncomplicated in these verses:
“The Master said, ‘Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it...’” - Luke 10:41-42 MSG
So as we go into 2021, will we have a life that is like Mary or Martha? Will we have a life that is complicated or uncomplicated?
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