Revolutionary

In this day in age mediocre is not enough to get by. If goods or services are mediocre, people get refunded. If a marriage is mediocre, people get divorced. If children are mediocre, they get abused. People expect to be wowed and constantly try to “one up” everything in life. That’s why addictions are so common, the mundane high isn’t enough so people dive in deeper to experience the ultimate.

When Jesus came to this planet he was not just some nice guy who helped people out. He revolutionized faith and life for everyone he came in contact with. It wasn’t enough not to sleep around, if you even thought about it, it was as if you had already committed the sin. It wasn’t enough to love your friends, you had to love your enemies too. It wasn’t enough to just love God on Sundays, you had to sell everything you had to follow Him. It wasn’t enough to try to follow the rules, you had to have faith in God’s sacrifice. It wasn’t enough to hope to feel better, with one touch from God’s hand you were instantly made whole. The things Jesus did were extraordinary and rocked the entire world.

In youth group, Sir Daya and I are teaching the youth all about being revolutionary and regardless of the circumstances, doing radical things with their faith. So it occurred to me last night, if Jesus said we would do greater works than Him, why is my life so mediocre? Why don’t the everyday things I do transform the lives around me? Why are my friends’ marriages falling apart? Why are they abusing their children? Why are they addicted? Why are they dying of horrible disease?

It’s not because I am not doing enough, it’s because God isn’t. I am not allowing God to lead my life in a radical way because it is uncomfortable. I am so worried about being in a comfortable, happy place I am not willing to step out and be radically changed.

Because of this, the people around me who are looking for the ultimate and are dissatisfied with the mundane don’t see anything I have that they could possibly want. My life is mediocre just like theirs. I if tell them Jesus is the answer, they look at my life and say, “Um, no thanks. I see that you and your husband fight like us, that you yell at your kids too, that you face sickness and addictions just like me. If you’re life is just like mine, how could your Jesus possibly help me?”

My life should be so full of Christ that it could not possibly look anything like the world. They should so terribly desire the amazing life that I live as one of God’s chosen. God’s people faced anything but the mundane. God gave Abraham a son in his old age. He parted the Red Sea for Moses. He saved Daniel from the lion’s mouths.

If God can do all those things, can he take my simple life and make it radical? Can’t my children be the one’s with the faith to heal their peers? Can’t my marriage be the picture of Christ’s love for his church, willing to be tortured and die for someone so undeserving? Can’t my walk with God be so full of faith that those around me cannot help but be drawn to God? Can’t I die to myself so that He might live through me (2 Corinthians 5:15)?

Can’t I also be a revolutionary?