THE SIMPLE WAY OF CHRIST
It is one of the great tragedies of our age that men have made complex what God made simple. The gospel of Christ is not a maze of doctrines but a message of redemption. Jesus did not come to burden men with systems; He came to set men free. His call was not to an institution of walls and names but to a life of love and truth. He said, “Follow Me,” not “Follow your party.” He invited us to a Person, not a program.
In the early church, believers were known simply as “disciples” and “brethren.” Their fellowship was grounded not in uniformity of thought but in their shared faith in Christ Jesus. They broke bread together, prayed together, and cared for one another as members of the same spiritual family. Their bond was not organizational, but relational. They were united not because they agreed on every issue, but because they belonged to the same Lord who had washed them in His blood.
Over time, we have often drifted from that simplicity. We have sometimes built fences where the Lord built doors. We have measured one another by forms and phrases instead of faith and fruit. But truth is not confined to our boundaries, nor is grace limited to our understanding. Wherever Christ is honored, and souls are being changed by His Spirit, there we should rejoice. The work of God cannot be confined to our labels or limited to our sight.
The gospel calls us back to the heart of things — to love God and to love one another. Jesus said that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37–40). The Christian life begins and ends there. If we love as He loved, truth will not divide us but deepen us. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son will cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
May we return to the simple way of Christ — not proud of our heritage but humbled by His grace. Let us seek unity, not by compromise of truth, but by a fuller devotion to the One who is the Truth. In Him we find both freedom and fellowship, both purity and peace. When we stand together beneath His cross, our divisions fade, and the world can once again see in us what God intended from the beginning — a people of love, redeemed by grace, and devoted to His Son.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
