Yesterday my father-in-law sent me a video clip that has been making its way all over the Internet. It has to do with a thirteen year-old boy (cowboy, actually!) from Nebraska who has a very tender heart. Watch the following video, then I'll share my thoughts below:
Lots of people tune into Christian radio, but few listeners are "tuned in" to God like Logan. Now I don't know this boy or his family, but they strike me as people who understand the essence of the gospel, love the Lord, and lead "simple" lives. That is to say, life on a ranch, or a farm, or some other rural setting gives one plenty of time for reflection. We think of Isaac in the Old Testament who "went out to meditate in the field in the evening" (Gen. 24:63). Then there was the shepherd-boy David who wrote, most likely while gazing at the night-sky, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8:3-4). Life out in the country has its advantages!
That's not to say that rural living is essential to spirituality. Certainly the majority of the population in Isaac's day and David's day, despite their exposure to the beauty and wonder of God's creation, "did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Rom. 1:21). Their thoughts were futile instead of fruitful. So the real key to knowing God is not a matter of your residence but your receptivity.
Still, we who live in the city or the suburbs live at a much faster pace and are surrounded by things that can easily crowd God out of our thoughts, if we let them. So how can we simplify our spiritual lives? Well, one thing we can do is purposely build in a little more silence and solitude. Go for a drive - without turning on the radio. Take a walk without your 'walkman' or iPod. Sit outside after dinner and talk or read - instead of turning on the TV. As Don Whitney says, "Recover the physically and spiritually re-creative power of silence" (Simplify Your Spiritual Life, p. 110).
Finally, let's not forget that this is not only something we should practice as adults; it's something we should instill in our kids. My guess is that one reason 13-year-old Logan is so spiritually sensitive and receptive is because he has a loving mom and dad who are tuned in to the Lord as well and are rearing their son in the ways of righteousness. May we do the same!