By Eric Nelson
Aren’t there times when you just crave an uncomplicated and basic thing? Perhaps it’s Mom’s cooking—simple, good old-fashioned food. Maybe hiking in the woods—away from traffic, cell phones, and computers—being close to nature and the simple pleasures of God’s handiwork.
Similarly, there are times when we need to get back to basics in our religious experience. Micah 6:8 summarizes this well: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” That verse describes a simple, direct walk with our Lord.
Ellen White seems to make a similar point when she writes, “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times” (The Great Controversy, p. 464).
When we first gave our hearts to the Lord and experienced fresh and new devotion to Christ, it was not so that we could argue our points of doctrine more convincingly.
Rather, it was to experience a faith walk—complete with forgiveness, victory, and the joy of Christ’s presence in our lives. Those basic elements are what really made the Christian life worth living. It was not just a religion of dos and don’ts. It was—and should continue to be—a faith lived out in a simple, biblical manner.
When we find ourselves feeling like our walk with Christ is not as strong as we wish for it to be, we need to get back to those basic, simple elements of our connection with Christ. Perhaps we could spend time reading the Gospels, spend more time in prayer, take time to renew our personal relationship with Christ, or re-read Steps to Christ or The Desire of Ages. Those are the pure and simple elements that best help us renew our first commitment to Him.
The Book of Revelation (2:4) speaks of a people who have lost some of their earlier devotion, commitment, and love. It says, “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” We do not want that to be a description of our relationship with Christ. We want to have a vibrant and strong connection with our Lord. Thankfully there is an answer. Jesus’ power to keep us in a strong relationship with Him is just as strong as his power to convert us in the first place.
What would it be like if our churches were full of people who acted justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly with their God? What would happen in a community where the Seventh-day Adventist Church members had a revival of primitive godliness? I think those churches would be the most convincing testimony that with the power of the Holy Spirit we will attract those we wish to reach. If we truly lived our faith in simple, practical ways, the impact of our religion would be a powerful witness to others.
At an early Adventist revival tent meeting, a man was convicted that he should correct his life and get right with God. Returning home from the meeting, he passed someone that he had cheated in a sheep sale. He promptly confessed his wrong and asked to make it right. As this other, non-religious neighbor walked away from the event, he remarked, “If that’s what it means to be converted, I want some of that too.”
Perhaps it is time for us to return to the basic practice of our faith—the first love and devotion we had with our Lord and Savior. May we experience a pure and simple faith walk with Christ.
Eric Nelson is RMC vice president for administration.