Consider a Simple Answer
Over my car radio came this question, “How many grooves does a record have?” Caller after caller flooded the radio station with answers. One caller said that a record had 212 grooves. To get that answer, she took the number of revolutions a record makes per minute and multiplied that by the width of the record. Another caller said that his record had 117.6 grooves. He took the perimeter of the record, multiplied it by the radius and divided it by the number of revolutions. Numerous callers said it depended on the record, but each caller had a slightly different answer, each with a unique and often complicated system for arriving at their answer. Finally the DJ said, “Boy, you folks are making this harder than it actually is. A record has only one groove. It might be long, but there is only one of them.”
CONSIDER how things so simple have a way of becoming so complicated. We often have a difficult time believing that things can be simple. There may be something inside of us saying the more complicated something is, the better, more reliable and closer to the truth it is. Theologians talk about ecclesiology and eschatology, and God talks about love and hope. Social workers develop elaborate programs to do what Jesus did with an outstretched hand. Church leaders form intricate creeds to live by and Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
We complicate- God simplifies. Yes, things are just that simple.
“I give you a new commandment, said John, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 34,35)
Rev. Wendell Mettey
Revised 6/11/2013
