Do You Want To Be Just Normal?
March 24, 2014
“You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?” (I Cor. 3:3)
How deep and how rich are the ways of God. Is there any limit to what He can do? The obvious answer to this question is no. Emphatically NO! The more important question is; is there any limit to how much He can do with us, in us and through us? The answer to this question is YES! We can limit God! He will not force us into relationship; He will not push us into unfamiliar territory if we stubbornly refuse to go. He will allow us to be “normal” Christians if that is what we want. Sadly, many have no higher goal, no greater aspiration, than to become “normal.” Their desires are limited to measuring up to others. We like familiarity, we like routine; we don’t like to step out of the boat and walk on the water because it’s risky and we might drown. In his book, Holiness, Truth & The Presence of God, Francis Frangipane writes, “We must understand: God does not want us “normal,” He wants us Christ like!” To become Christ like we must do the things that Christ did! That lifestyle is far different than our definition of normal.
In this journey God has taken me from the depths of anguish and despondency to the heights of excitement and wonder. From the place of defeat as I stood by the graveside of a dear friend, to a place of joy as I watched God heal people from pain they have suffered from for years. When I am able to reflect on the experiences God has walked me through and the challenges He has placed before me, I understand more clearly that indeed there is no end to this life of faith. God is so deep, so high, so wide, and so entirely unfathomable to my finite mind that I will always be challenged to move further away from being comfortable, satisfied and “normal.” My question to you is this; “do you want to be just be a normal believer?” There is nothing inherently wrong or sinful with the things that are familiar. But, they keep us from experiencing that which is extraordinary. “If He would expand us to receive the eternal, He must rescue us from the limitations of the temporal.” (Francis Frangipane) My challenge to you is to press in to God day by day until the extraordinary becomes normal.