Monday, September 15, 2008

A New Normal

For most of my life I have been plagued by a question, "What is normal?" It seems as though each individual and group determines what is normal. Serving in the life of the church, I have opportunity to visit churches and learn quickly that there are very different normals at work in different places. Nonetheless we all have a pattern to life, which we consider to be normal.

As I have been reading the book Amish Grace, I have been reminded that the Amish are a people who have a historical normal. Unlike many groups there seems to be an understanding, even if flawed, of what is normal for the Amish. When the shooting happened at Nickel Mines school in October 2006 what was normal was no longer possible. No longer was is possible for this community to completely remain removed from a public eye. No longer could this normally cloistered community continue in their normal ways. Their life, and normal have been forever invaded.

I do not for a moment suggest we all need to experience a tragedy such as the Nickel Mines school. I do however suggest that we need to on a regular basis have our normal invaded. A synonym for normal is ordinary. Now there are some differences between the two, still they are the same in they note a regular pattern of thought and action in our life, collective or individual. Those who follow Christ are not called live normal or ordinary lives. We are called to live extraordinary lives, lives of abundance, lives of passion and intensity for God.

There are times when our follow of God becomes routine and normal. Those are the time we need to have our normal invaded. We need to have the ordinary challenged. If we do not, we begin to lose site of who is in charge in our lives. Hint, it is not you or me.

No comments: