Friday, November 30, 2012

Breaking the Cycle of "Normalcy"

Matthew 10:37-39  37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
When Jesus called each of His disciples, there was nothing special about the moment to the call.  However, the events that transpired afterwards altered every moment for the rest of the follower’s life.  Discipleship was an epic journey marked by sacrifice, learning, and dependency on the Master.  Nothing about the disciple’s life was normal.  His schedule was made by his Teacher.   
We live in a world that loves schedules.  There are calendars, day planners, IPads, phones, computers, etc., that all have apps or programs that support the use of a schedule.  And most of us love to use these schedules.  The devout even schedule in their religious activities.  But what if we had the conviction and freedom to  where there was no schedule but to do what God asked of us?  What if we lived a life of such Epic proportion to where God’s Kingdom was so on the forefront of our mind that it dictated how our day was planned? 
Take a moment to re-read Matthew 10:37-39.  Now, insert what I like to call “Kingdom Wasters” (such as TV, Social Media, naps) into the blanks.  How many of these Kingdom Wasters can you think of?   
Matthew 10:37-39  37 “Anyone who loves their ____________more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their _________ more than me is not worthy of me.
38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
When Jesus taught these verses in Matthew, he was showing through hyperbole that love for Him must come before all else.  However, it seems that love for Jesus is no longer a close second to family if we used time to gauge our affections.  Work, school, friends, sports, entertainment, vacations, etc. The list keeps growing and growing.
If we as Christians want to effectively impact the world for Christ, we are going to have to break the cycle of doing what’s “normal” in our culture.  Some of these changes might seem drastic, but in case you haven’t noticed, we live in a desperate time.  This world needs Jesus and they need to see Him through us.  We need to step up and become the followers He has called us to be.