Progression leads to Simplicity

One of my most favorite pass times is cooking. I didn't discover this passion until after my high school graduation. At that time I found myself away at college and fending for myself in regards to the accumulation, distribution and consumption of food!! This passion was born out of self-preservation, cause we all know what 3 years of cafeteria food can do "for" the body, right?

My love for food prep continues to this day as I use this passion to serve my family by making dinner most evenings. One of the greatest lessons I've learned about cooking is something that I think I need to be even more aware of in my spiritual walk with Christ. I've been writing about this idea of progression as of late. The basic concept regarding progression is our life's focus. Each of us is moving forward and towards something...this is called progression. As a self-professing follower of Jesus, my focus or my progression needs to be towards Jesus. Often times in our good intentions we find our progression distorted as we become more concerned about moving away from something and less concerned about what we are moving towards. It's in these moments of time where we must allow simplicity to influence our progression.

When cooking there is one rule of thumb that seems to hold true: Less is More. A few years ago a TV show called Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares caught my attention. I was fascinated by this chef's ability to come into a dire situation and help a restaurant, pub or dining facility re-invent themselves by pursuing simplicity. Often times we think in order to have the best product we must have something that is complex in nature. The fact is that the reverse is often more true. Places that serve simple, good-tasting and reasonably priced food often do the best in terms of growing their business. So it is with our faith in Christ I believe.

I have found that when I allow the pursuit of simplicity, the removal of clutter and the embrace of focus, to influence my progression, I have more peace, hope and joy than I can shake a stick at! As with cooking, if we use to many ingredients and spices, the food itself suffers. When we allow too many exterior "good intentions" to influence our walk with Christ, our faith in Him, our influence in our world and our relevance suffers greatly.

Let me ask you this: What is getting in your way of progressing towards Jesus? How can you overcome this obstacle by embracing simplicity?