Less is more (not an April Fool's Joke)

It was an exciting day when I typed my first computer code.  It wasn’t on a PC.  It wasn’t BASIC.  It was a punch card containing a single “control character” to tell the computer it was about to receive a set of instructions.  This was 1977.  Our high school was the only one in the school district with a computer - a GE115 with a whopping 8K of RAM.  The computer languages were either FORTRAN or COBOL.  Most people reading this have no idea what any of this means.

Because computer code was hole-punched into heavy-stock cards, it was a labour-intensive process.  As the computer program became more complex, the size of the stack of punch cards grew exponentially.  We quickly learnt to number the cards.  Dropping your stack of cards resulted in not-so-empathetic giggles of, “Oh, that’s too bad, man” from your classmates.  It didn’t take too long for us to heed Mr. Crawford’s advice:  “Less is more.”

In other words, complexity is best expressed through simplicity.  This is a life principle that applies broadly beyond computer programming.  But there is something innate in human nature that always wants to make things more complicated.  Sometimes, that is a good thing as we take one thing we have learnt and extend it to new applications.  At other times, like writing computer code, it is counterproductive and just makes everything more complicated, confusing, and ineffective.

The Gospel is both simple and complex.  Its simplicity is a message of relationship, repentance, reconciliation, and redemption.  It is the truth of God’s love and grace.  It is a gift that is received.  One does not need to explain the hypostatic union or theories of lapsarianism as a condition to salvation.

Yet it is also complex - understanding(!?) the Trinity, embracing God as the Sovereign Creator, maturing through the transformation of our minds and the work of the Holy Spirit, living by faith - these are complex theological truths.  We learn these doctrines and they facilitate our growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Sometimes we make them essential add-ons to grace.

Perhaps, like the church in Galatia, we perceive the Gospel to be too simple.  How can such a wondrous thing somehow not depend on my contribution?  Maybe we should help things along a bit.  And so we add conditions and ceremonies and rituals to God’s grace.  The Apostle Paul responded to this: “Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?" (Gal. 3:3 NET)

We all struggle with this.  In our humanity we frequently question, and usually assume, we aren’t good enough.  We need to do better, to try harder.  The hamster wheel of life always needs to turn one revolution faster.  That’s just the way life is, right?  And faith is a part of life, right?

Thankfully, no.  God’s grace needs no secondary input from us.  We are responsible to respond to the Spirit’s work as He convicts of sin, strengthens our character, and transforms us into the image of Christ.  But that work does not require us to jump through spiritual hoops, seek secret knowledge, or have deeper experiences.  Paul reminds us, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:12-13 NASB)

The day I came to understand grace as grace - no hoops required, a thousand pounds dropped off my shoulders.  For the first time I began to understand my relationship with God was not dependent on my inputs - daily devotions, prayer, Bible studies, church involvement.  All God wanted from me was a heart sensitive to His Spirit, willing to learn, committed to integrity.  

Less is more.  Because it is counter-intuitive, understanding God’s grace challenges all of us.  But if we can release ourselves from the weight of performance-oriented faith we will find true enjoyment and satisfaction in our relationship with God.