Back to Basics

In the 1990s. John Major ran a Conservative political campaign with the motto ‘Back to Basics‘, emphasising the need to return to basic moral values. The campaign backfired when various Conservative ministers were caught out in a number of moral scandals, including adultery and corruption. As is often the case, our moral aspirations may be laudable, but we lack the power in and of ourselves to live the way God intends us to live…

January is traditionally a time for ‘New Year’s resolutions’, focussing on things we know we need to change and intend to do differently. So often, the resolutions fizzle out long before the month ends. Nonetheless, the need to go back to basics, to evaluate afresh what is truly important in our lives and to make adjustments accordingly, is very sound.

Basics are often scorned because we feel we have outgrown them. One of the things I loved about teaching languages was the fact that the basics are absolutely fundamental to all progress in language. I saw them as building blocks. Every single thing learnt in a language is not wasted, but becomes the launchpad to new discoveries. The bricks at the bottom – our first words and verbs – never become irrelevant or unneeded:

In the same way, there are basic Scriptural truths which we never outgrow. We are saved by grace through faith and we live by faith. (Eph 2:8-9, Gal 3:1) God loves us so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that we don’t have to perish – and not just us, but the whole world! (John 3:16)  God is maker and ruler of everything. (Col 1:16-17) Every week at our church we celebrate Communion, the sacrament God has given the church to remind us of the basics of His love, grace, mercy and power.

For Christmas, I received the Chris Tomlin CD ‘Love Ran Red.’ As I’ve been listening to this over the past few weeks, I was struck by the very basic nature of some of these songs. Chris Tomlin has been writing songs for over twenty years and yet some of these songs sound so simple and basic. At first, I was a little irritated by that. But as I continued to listen, I realised that just because something contains simplicity does not make it simplistic, nor does it invalidate the truth that is contained therein. We all need to be reminded of basic truth. We all need to build our lives on basic, foundational truth: ‘ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ‘ (1 Cor 3:10-11)

One song I keep returning to because of its very foundational truth is ‘Jesus Loves Me’. Don’t let its simplicity or repetition deceive you. You need the truth it contains. You need to build your life on the simple truth that Jesus loves you and is for you. You need to know that there’s nowhere you can run where He will not find you. You need to know He holds your heart and has died for you. You need this truth more than any of your resolutions, because where your resolutions may fade and fail, His love lasts forever and is unfailing.