Going Off Script

 
I'm fortunate to have a couple of guys at my office who meet up with me once a week to talk about Jesus, a Jewish carpenter from the first-century AD whom we're all obsessed with (I know - NERDS!). This past week one of the guys, we'll call him Xavier McQueen to keep him anonymous (and also to make him sound really cool), shared how he went from a life of meh existence, and boring daily routine, to a life full of passion. This conversation lead us to some thoughts about how our office life and life as suburban Americans not only is the stuff of sitcoms, but is also antithetical to being a follower of Jesus, and living a life of passion and purpose.

I believe that it's in our human nature to seek consistency through routines in our daily lives because it brings us comfort. Daily rituals such as work, coffee, exercise, adrenaline, religious rituals and anything else that you seek out daily will bring you comfort aren't bad of course -- but they can easily become a way of of avoiding something outside of our comfort zone that could stretch us from comfort -- to joy and meaning. Creating a life of comfortable daily routines is like living in a "Panic Room" to insulate yourself from the bad guys -- but deep down inside we know we're not meant to live in panic rooms. We can't "live" in Panic Rooms. Plus if you saw the movie "Panic Room" you learned that those rooms aren't all that.

We miss out on beauty and a billions different spices of life that God wants for us when we only lock ourselves into daily routines. I'm sure you've noticed like I have that oftentimes the most memorable and meaningful experiences in life happen when things go off script. It's the time you got lost on vacation and came across the most amazing place. It's the "chance" encounter with someone that turned into your spouse or your best friend. It's the time when someone you love went through a difficult time, but you were there for them and you were blessed as a result. It was the time your spouse or your friend went through a hard time together, and you became closer as a result.

It's sadly ironic that the Christian religion can so easily turn into a lifestyle of routine and suffocating rituals, and a Panic Room. It's ironic because if you look at the life of Jesus and his followers -- their lives defined adventure and spontaneity. The only daily ritual in their life seemed to be the daily question of "what can we do today that will help others, even if it might get us killed?" Following Jesus means that your rituals will center on others - not yourself. When we are there for each other, then nobody gets neglected. When we stop loving and serving each other is when the system breaks down.

The "church" that Jesus started looked more like a house gathering of people plotting for missions of self-sacrificial love. These missions were not routine, they were not comfortable and they were not safe. "Ritual" was probably one of the last words anyone would use when describing what "church" was back in the days of togas and sandals. They sought love over comfort.

When you follow the God of love instead of making a god of comfort, it's impossible to have a life of me existence or boring daily routines. When we break out of our routine, we will find opportunities to give life to countless others and to ourselves.