Sieze the moment, seize the day

Luke 9:62 - Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

This was last night's sermon text. The theme was committment - reflected in both the worship and the sermon, though unplanned. Amazing how this happens time and time again.

The text tells how hard it is to plough a straight furrow if you're constantly looking backward. In the Christian life this could be looking to the things of the world, one foot in the world and one as a Christian, but neither here nor there. The pastor talked on the "someday" follower - I hear you, but not right now. There was the "too comfortable" follower - it's too hard to step out of this nice comfy place I'm in. And of course there was the 100% follower - here, now, completely committed to extreme Christianity. He illustrated his point with a clip from the movie "XXX" - the bit where Vin Diesel drives (not-)his car off the bridge. It demonstrated taking the plunge - no turning back, committed to extreme life, life at the max.

This entire weekend I've noticed a trend in my thoughts, readings and spiritual absorptions. I guess it's God trying to tell me something. First came an article on Taize - meditative retreat "en mass". Then thoughts on contemplative prayer, courtesy Waving/Drowning's link to this blog post. Then a sermon on living a 100% committed, extreme Christian life.

I started thinking - am I really a 100% committed Christian, or am I just living a "surface" life, you know, doing the good things, saying the right stuff, reading the Bible, but not really going DEEP.

My prayers seem to rush around, my mind gets sidetracked. I never have time or peace enough to meditate fully on God and His Word. I go to church, but haven't "gotten into" the worship in a while. I'm not sure I ever truly have. I could go on and on, but it might depress me! :)

What would it TRULY take for me to be a 100% committed, radical, extreme Christian? COULD I be one or am I too comfortable in my lukewarm rut? How would I even begin to step out of that rut and become "hot"? What would my life look like if I were to take it to the max for God?

There are many, many things for me to think about, but this weekend I can say I've truly been challenged to think hard, look deep and make some big changes. I don't want to do life in the shallow end anymore. There isn't enough time left on this earth to waste dog-paddling there. I know what I'm looking for is in the deep end, but, like my son, I'm scared of not being able to feel the bottom. Most of it's probably in my head, this fear of jumping in without knowing what's down there.

My game-plan? Hard to say. A little at a time, a foot in the water, a developing of habit and space and dedicated time-blocks to go deep. A lot more thinking, a lot more digging, a lot more learning. Will I ever get it right? No, I don't think that's possible on this planet. But I think my feet are turned in the right direction to start the journey.