I've been listening to messages online by a guy named Francis Chan. Francis Chan is a pastor from California and he wrecks my world. After listening to Francis, you may just begin to doubt how much you really love Jesus. So, fair warning.
Anyway, in one message he was talking about how he was reading in the book of Acts and couldn't get over how different the story of the early church is from our current reality. He's right. Go ahead, read Acts 2 and then think about whether or not that is your experience.
As a pastor, I have a relatively large amount of influence on what our church looks like. But I'm not really thinking too much about Acts 2 right now. Here is the thing that really got me thinking, and maybe it will get you thinking too. What about my individual life? What would people think if someone could write my life into the book of Acts. There I am, Marcus Johnson, right next to Peter, Paul, Stephen, etc. Story after story of men who were imprisoned, beaten, mocked, and even killed. Stories of men who were willing to give everything for the sake of Christ. Stories of men who had such deep faith that they were capable of accomplishing the impossible through God.
Then, insert me. Marcus. How insanely out of place would I be? Stephen is seeing Christ as he faces certain death at the hands of the furious religious establishment... Meanwhile, Marcus spent 2 full weeks in Zimbabwe before returning to his feather mattress. Paul has given up his money, his societal status, and is certainly willing to give up his life if necessary... Meanwhile, Marcus' yearly church attendance is still pretty high! Probably 90%! Philip is teaching people about Christ, baptizing people, and God has such big plans for him that the Holy Spirit is literally teleporting him around... Meanwhile, Marcus is making sure he doesn't watch rated R movies with nudity in them.
Get the picture? Seems pretty different. I'm not exactly fitting in. And it is so easy to look at the comparison I just made and say, "Yeah, well, they are like faith super heroes! It's totally different!" Is it? Listen to James 5:17-18, "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." Focus on that first line. "Elijah was a man just like us."
What if it is possible to live the kind of life we read about in the Bible? What if Elijah, Peter, Paul, David, etc. were just men like us? I'm not sure if I have all the answers as to HOW, but I do believe that the first step is to let a thought like that start to drive you a little crazy. When you get to that point, you are experiencing a little something called "Holy Discontent," and it is that discontent that will drive you to do the big and small things that lead to a dynamic life for Christ.
Please feel free to let me know what you think about all of the above in the comments. See y'all soon.
