By Ben Disney
“You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” Albert Einstein
“The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God.” Benedict De Spinoza
“To understand the whole, it is necessary to understand the parts. To understand the parts, it is necessary to understand the whole. Such is the circle of understanding.” Ken Wilber, Eye of Spirit
“Everything is both simpler than we can imagine and more complicated that we can conceive.” Goethe
“If you take care of the little things, the big things take care of themselves.” R. Reese
“God is in the details.” Mies Van Der Rohe
We live in a complex and complicated world. There are few boundaries left that shelter any of us from global events. A political uprising in a distant nation, an economic collapse in a foreign country, or the simple fear of a disruption in the flow of vital commodities can have a direct and immediate effect upon our lives.
The challenge of life is to be fully engaged and fully aware of the complexities without being overwhelmed or paralyzed by them. The other option is to close your eyes and pretend nothing matters outside your own small circle, but that’s both dumb and dangerous.
In the midst of life’s complexities, Jesus had a remarkable gift of paring it all down to the basic essential core. When asked to sum up everything he knew about God, the truth, the scriptures, and life in general, he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Is it that complicated? Maybe. Can it be that simple? Yes.
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