Anything but Ordinary

I often say that I don’t want to live an ordinary life. I
want to be extraordinary. This has nothing to do with me, but everything to do
with Jesus.

Someone who I feel exemplifies out-of-the-box Christian
living is Shane Claiborne. A few years back he wrote an incredible book called The Irresistible Revolution and I am
currently finishing up his latest book called Jesus for President.

The essence of this book is that the politics of Jesus are
so much higher than ours. Imagine if Jesus were sitting in the White House, or
on the “throne” over the Kingdom
of Swaziland. Perhaps
things would look a little different.

The last section of this book displays radical Christians
who are revolutionizing the world. This is my dream, my hope, my desire!
Another longing of mine is that we wouldn’t have to label “radical” Christians
vs. “normal” Christians. We should all be living outrageously every single day.
Listen to a few of these stories:

Shane speaks about a robotics engineer who used to make
robots for himself and to impress people, but began thinking about how he could
use his skills to make a difference in God’s Kingdom. He now designs robots to
dismantle land mines in countries like Afghanistan so children can play
freely.

How about massage therapy? One lady kindly and gently washes
and massages the feet of women involved in sex trafficking who walk the
red-light district all night long.  

And how about practicing being green? One community has a
washing machine that is powered by a stationary bicycle. They are not only
saving precious energy that we often take for granted, but are also being good to
themselves.

This last story may be my favourite. A prison chaplain was
suddenly overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the lives of the prisoners he saw regularly.
So, he decided to turn the prison into a monastery where men would become like
a family of monks. They would attend retreats, confess sins, and when they were
back in their “monastic cell” they would spend time with God at their own personal
altar.

There are a myriad of other stories of people refusing to
pay war taxes, making their own clothes, growing their own food, taking in elderly
widows, and even an Amish community who actively making peace with those who have
wronged them.

I hope this small bit is inspiring, because it has
definitely fanned the flame of my heart to do something great for God and His
Kingdom. Let’s put hands and feet to our faith and do something, anything – as long as it’s not ordinary.