Escaping Mediocrity

I would have posted this yesterday but my left hand was too swollen to type -- boiling liquid exploded on my hand and now two of my fingers are purple-ish and numb. But all is well.

----------From the pages of Carey's Journal----------

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Mediocrity is something I detest with a passion. I am constantly surrounded by it and trying to avoid it. The college culture is laden with hedonism and Christians have not escaped -- we have merely tailored hedonism to suit our morality so that we feel better about ourselves. It is so easy to settle into the mindset of those around you -- whether they are Christians or not.

No one dares to venture beyond their comfort zone. No one dares to step outside the bounds of conventional "Churchianity." Where is the hunger? Where is the thirst? Where is the zeal? Why can we not be only satisfied with Christ, yet never be satisfied with enough of Him? He leaves you hungering for more of Himself with a passionate, intense "soul-fire." Why do we pursue fleeting desires that have no ultimate value?

After Axcess last Tuesday night, I pulled out a book I'd been waiting to show some friends of mine. I really wanted to get together a group to study and discuss Joshua Harris' Sex is not the Problem (Lust is). The book is challenging and convicting -- a topic that many "good Christians" skirt around. My friend glanced at the cover then looked at me with a questioning look. She briefly flipped through the pages.

"Oh my goodness!" She blushed and put the book on the table. "That's just a little too awkward. I wouldn't feel comfortable talking about stuff like that."

"Well," I sighed, "what about I Kissed Dating Goodbye?"

"There's no way I'm doing that one," chimed in another friend. I rolled my eyes and groaned in frustration.

"Seriously, this is something we all need to know," I reasoned.

"Look, you can be a nun if you want to, Carey, but no one else is joining you."

It's amazing how one can be surrounded by people all the time and still be lonely. Maybe it's just me, but I find a lack of like-minded "edgy" people. No one wants to pursue the Lord with reckless abandon. No one wants an intense relationship with Christ. No one wants to address the "awkward" issues that hinder us from running after Him. Instead, they prefer to avoid confrontation and discomfort at all costs. Most prefer mediocre Churchianity to high-octane Christianity.

I am reminded of a piece of dialogue from The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo tries to rid himself of his burden by offering the Ring to Galadriel...

Frodo: I cannot do this alone.
Galadriel: You are a Ring-bearer, Frodo. To be a Ring-bearer is to be alone.

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

As Christians we must not meander down a smooth path, but run with all that is in us toward our Goal -- Christ. Run with passion and zeal. To live is Christ -- and we're only given one life.

...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment... (Hebrews 9:27)

What kind of life will I give an account for at the Judgement Seat of Christ? Do I wish to lay the pebbles of a sorry life at His feet? Absolutely not!