Some people say that they see God in art. Well, in many ways, they are right. Most of us have seen the paintings by Norman Rockwell. If not, you’re missing out on a wonderful porthole to Americana America
Although our culture may have drifted far from the Norman Rockwell’s vision of life, I believe that it may not be as unrealistic as we might think. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this might be closer to the lives that God has intended for us, and I believe that the key lies within “simplicity”. Let’s face it: our lives have become more cluttered, hectic and fast-paced. Whether in the work place or home, we find ourselves literal slaves to the “to do lists”. The list gets longer and longer, and we feel as if we never seem to accomplish much of anything. We work for bigger homes and have smaller families and yet never seem to feel at home as much as we would like to. Proverbs 23:4 says, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich.” We are not told to avoid becoming rich. On the contrary, God wants us to be prosperous; sometimes that means monetary wealth, and other times not. The point He is trying to make is that we should avoid focusing our lives on the idea that we must be rich to be happy and to find spiritual peace. The key to peace within your circumstances lies in the focus of your life.
We celebrated Christ’s death a couple of months ago, so we have been able to look very closely at our savior’s life and the way in which He lived. If there were any lifestyle that we should base ours on, the life of Jesus would be the quintessential example. In the book of Matthew 8: 20, Jesus talks about the cost of following Him. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Notice that He does not compare himself to the lifestyle of man. He compares Himself to the life of animals that have the simplest lives of all living creatures. Matthew himself was a tax collector and very wealthy, yet he gave up all he had for a life of following Christ. Now, do we need to sell all that we have in order to have a fulfilling life in Christ? Not at all. In fact, I feel that His intention is for us to have life abundantly. These extreme examples of life with Christ show clearly that our focus can only be on one thing. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24.
To sum it up, as children of God, we should “be content in whatever the circumstances”. Phillippians 4:11. The apostle Paul lived a life of pure contentment. Even while in prison, where he wrote some of his most important works of his ministry, he knew the meaning of being content. He teaches us that we can be content in any circumstance if our lives are built with Christ as the center. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34.
Although our culture may have drifted far from the Norman Rockwell’s vision of life, I believe that it may not be as unrealistic as we might think. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this might be closer to the lives that God has intended for us, and I believe that the key lies within “simplicity”. Let’s face it: our lives have become more cluttered, hectic and fast-paced. Whether in the work place or home, we find ourselves literal slaves to the “to do lists”. The list gets longer and longer, and we feel as if we never seem to accomplish much of anything. We work for bigger homes and have smaller families and yet never seem to feel at home as much as we would like to. Proverbs 23:4 says, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich.” We are not told to avoid becoming rich. On the contrary, God wants us to be prosperous; sometimes that means monetary wealth, and other times not. The point He is trying to make is that we should avoid focusing our lives on the idea that we must be rich to be happy and to find spiritual peace. The key to peace within your circumstances lies in the focus of your life.
We celebrated Christ’s death a couple of months ago, so we have been able to look very closely at our savior’s life and the way in which He lived. If there were any lifestyle that we should base ours on, the life of Jesus would be the quintessential example. In the book of Matthew 8: 20, Jesus talks about the cost of following Him. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Notice that He does not compare himself to the lifestyle of man. He compares Himself to the life of animals that have the simplest lives of all living creatures. Matthew himself was a tax collector and very wealthy, yet he gave up all he had for a life of following Christ. Now, do we need to sell all that we have in order to have a fulfilling life in Christ? Not at all. In fact, I feel that His intention is for us to have life abundantly. These extreme examples of life with Christ show clearly that our focus can only be on one thing. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24.
To sum it up, as children of God, we should “be content in whatever the circumstances”. Phillippians 4:11. The apostle Paul lived a life of pure contentment. Even while in prison, where he wrote some of his most important works of his ministry, he knew the meaning of being content. He teaches us that we can be content in any circumstance if our lives are built with Christ as the center. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34.
