Crazy old man...

I went to a conference this weekend and one of the guest speakers was Paul Henderson, the hockey dude who scored the ‘goal of the century’ for Canada in ’72. He was awesome. In sixty-year-old-man-rhetoric, he was speaking about how as Christians we are not here to ‘fiddle & fart around’, but to impact people forever.

As he was speaking I wrote down the words “Crazy Old Man” and circled it, thinking ‘wow, I hope I’m at least half that crazy when I grow up’. There is nothing crazier than denying yourself and following Jesus (Matthew 16:24). You should be considered a little crazy if you wake up in the morning longing to give all that you have to the purposes of God - impacting lives in this life and for all eternity.

As I am getting older I feel the pull to become normal, to settle, to conform, creeping in. I am told that I must abdicate passions for obligations and consider it a step forward in ‘maturity’. I must establish myself, develop habits, becoming effective, well-rounded, and time-managed. Whatever happened to becoming Spirit-led? Being God-inspired? And being created with a divine purpose that no one else on earth could fulfill but you?

From hearing 20 minutes with Paul Henderson you would know that he is one of those crazy passionate followers of Jesus. The ones who make you stop and wonder if you’re really living or just safely watching life go by through a thin piece of glass. I wonder how many of us, especially those who claim to be ‘spiritual’, ‘religious’, or even ‘Christian’ are already dead. A came across an excellent passage this morning to evaluate the state of our souls.

“There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:3)

The last verse got to me the most, as it reminded of the lyrics of a song called believe.

I’m not satisfied - doing it my own way
I’m not satisfied - to do church and walk away
I’m not satisfied - there’s no love in my life but You
I’m not satisfied - living in yesterday’s hour
I’m not satisfied - to have the form but not the power

I’m not satisfied… and I refuse to seep down into the world average, especially average Christianity. My life will count because God has blessed, empowered and created me to do so (He’s done the same for you as well). I will give myself to learning to be a follower Jesus because He is worthy of being followed. I will not live an ordinary life. Mine will also be one that is crazy and extraordinary. Hold me to it.