There is beauty in simple things. Last evening I reveled in the crisp air that heralded the coming Autumn as I walked out to the fire pit in my backyard. The crunchy leaves beneath my feet brought so much peace and joy to my heart that it kind of startled me. I love simple things.

Life can be complicated, can’t it? I often find myself preoccupied with thinking about the future. Planning for this or that. Figuring stuff out. Sometimes I feel like my thoughts are on a hamster wheel – spinning endlessly around – going faster and faster but never arriving at the destination because I am never actually in the future, just the present. My mind forgets sometimes that I can’t arrive somewhere only God can go.

It’s important to take time to stop thinking about what the future holds and enjoy the delights of what God is giving us in the present moment.

The greatest delight of all is the Gospel of Jesus. It’s not complicated. It’s not held out like a carrot for us to run after and never reach. It’s here right now to be embraced, experienced, and appreciated.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Paul describes the gospel of Jesus as “the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

Devotion is simple and rooted in the present. It means showing steadfast strength in spite of difficulties. It means to endure and to remain firm.

In the context of the Gospel our devotion to God is an answer to his devotion to us. This relationship of devotion seals our eternal destiny and allows us to rest in the moment because God has it all under control.

The little joys of life can be enjoyed because the Gospel is at work every moment in each of our experiences.

This fall remember to play in some leaves, have a good laugh with friends, and relax by a fire with a book. The complexity of life’s eternal questions – and all the smaller daily ones, as well – are ultimately answered in the simplicity of God’s devotion.