I remind myself every New Year of the words of Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” His statement rings true because over time things tend to get complicated. We begin our Christian life with utter delight and simplicity. But as tradition, religion, and activities begin to pile up over what was originally there, the simplicity can get lost.
I thought of that several times in a recent visit to the Holy Land. Frequently people come to Israel to walk where Jesus walked. And so they often ask their guide, “Did Jesus walk here?” Unscrupulous guides will say, “Oh, yes, He was in that church and He probably saw that building.” But honest guides pause and say, “Come here, let me show you something.” And they walk over to a precipice and lean over a fence, “Look down there about 25 feet,” the guide says. “Do you see those stones? Jesus may have walked there.” Then the traveller begins to realize that over the passing of centuries and the spoils of war, the sands of time have slowly covered multiple feet of the original site. Sometimes there’s a twinge of disappointment, but I always look forward to those places where we can say for sure He walked there.
For example, we know He walked on the Sea of Galilee. There’s no way to build a church over that! There’s no pile of rubbish, stack of debris, or rocks for people to kiss. All the stuff of tradition and religion is conspicuously absent—it’s just water. It’s the same surface Jesus walked on. There you see the same shore where He called some of His disciples to leave their nets and follow Him. It’s an amazing feeling to be there where they were. It’s an eye-opening thrill to see what they saw!
Every time we lead a tour to Israel, we tie up a group of boats in the middle of the sea. We ask people to bring a rock on board and let it symbolize some burden they brought with them as they began the tour. After a time of worship and teaching, we say to our friends, “The burden you brought with you, let it be contained in the rock and just let it go in the sea.” It’s a great moment, as everybody sits as silent as a room full of nuns! Then you hear plunk...It’s great! And then plunk...plunk...plunk. Almost without exception, the time on the sea remains each person’s favourite part of the trip. Why? Because it’s back to the original. It’s the simple, uncomplicated place where you renew something that over the years has gotten buried.
Has your walk with Christ has become buried? Time has a way of doing that (remember, time complicates things). After a series of heartbreaking experiences, overwhelming obstacles, wrong decisions, and maybe an abusive church or two, it’s easy to lose your way. That’s why we have to periodically re-examine our lives—and get back to the basics.
In a world that has lost its way and in a culture that has found itself distant from truth, how helpful it is to return to the Bible’s uncomplicated command, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith...” (Colossians 2:6–7 NASB1995). Notice the order of Paul’s words; it’s intentional: “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him....”
We can’t grow up in the Christian life until we grow deep. And growing deep means mastering the basics. I’ve noticed a pattern in my 50-plus years of ministry. Everyone who succeeds in the Christian life succeeds in the basics. Everyone who fails has, at some point, let the basics slip. It’s easy to do.
For the longest time in my life, I glibly mouthed Christian truths. But they didn’t take root until I began to spend time regularly in the Book. I’m not referring necessarily to reading a book about the Bible or good Christian materials. I’m talking about letting your eyes look on the pages of your Bible on a daily basis this New Year. When you embrace the written Word of God as your guide, you start thinking differently. And best of all, you live better. I urge you to make this New Year a year when you and the written Word of God get much better acquainted.
The Scripture offers us a promise—a motivation—to unearth our walk with Christ: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands...purify your hearts...” (James 4:8). May 2024 be a year of purity for you, purer than 2014, and purer than 2004. May you finish the year by saying, “I drew near to my Lord, and He and I had an intimacy I never knew before. I sustained periods of time through this year where I was with Him alone, and I took my deepest anxieties to Him in prayer.”
I have found personally that when I’m in His Word, and when I’m faithful in prayer (even if it’s five minutes a day), I begin to grow deeper. I have discovered that the Christian life is nothing more than the life of Christ—living and growing in my life. When I draw near to God, He draws near to me.
What better time than this New Year to blow the dust off the Bible and to remove the rubble that has buried your walk with Christ? Begin this year with a fresh, simple commitment to the basics—to spending time in the Word and time in prayer.
One day you may soon discover the rubble gone and the debris missing, as you find yourself walking where Jesus walked. In reality, you will find yourself walking with Him.
Copyright © 2013 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
