Ruined For The Ordinary

In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace is speaking before a rag-tag bunch of Scotsmen attempting to breathe purpose into their weary hearts. These men have been used as disposable pawns by the nobles; they have lost friends and family fighting the English while their leaders have made deals of safety and security. Tired, dejected and weary of living a life that seems to be going nowhere the men begin to leave the battle-field. It is at this moment of “nothing really matters” that Wallace rides in and begins to paint a picture of purpose and meaning. From atop his mount Wallace cries,  “Every man dies, not every man really lives.” 

There is a reason to live…there is a purpose to life…it is not found in mere existence, but rather it is a divine seed that is within every person who breathes. When we begin to cultivate this divine gift of passion, purpose and potentiality, we become ruined for the ordinary and that truly is God’s desire for you…to be ruined for the ordinary.

I have talked with too many men and women who wish they could have another job…wish they had a different life or family but feel emotionally and vocationally stuck riding out the current of existence.

Jesus did not give His life so that we would merely exists, living in apathy or atrophy…He died so that His very life would be infused into us jump starting the divine ride of a lifetime!

Ralph Waldo Emerson noted that: It is not length of life, but depth of life, that truly matters. Jesus said it this way:

“If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for My sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.”   Mark 8:35

* Everyone dies, but not many really live…

* It’s not the length of life that matters, but rather the depth of life…

* Living full-on for the Good news of Jesus births a passionate life marinated in depth.

When I decided to take God at His word…I found life. When I chose to allow the Good News of Christ to become my mission…I found purpose. When I surrendered my agendas to the Holy Spirit, and began experiencing the path illuminated by Him, I was ruined for the ordinary.

There are many days that I stand amazed at all the things God has allowed me to be a part of, from helping a village in Uganda receive clean water, to handing out sleeping bags to the homeless in downtown Seattle. From holding the hand of a friend in pain, to riding horses over the Canadian Rockies with a bunch of crazy guys. From experiencing the peace, presence and power of God in my life to witnessing a family healed and transformed through the grace and peace of God in the community of faith.

The beauty of beginning to really live life is that you don’t have to move, change jobs, find a new family, or get it all together. No, God will meet you right where you are, just as you are, right now.

He simply asks a question. “Will you follow me?” If you will answer Him will a committed “Yes,” and allow Him to take the driver’s seat, you will begin to view your job, your life, your spouse, your friends and your family through a radically different set of eyes.

You will begin to see beauty where there was ash. You will begin to experience hope where there was apathy. You will begin to the fingerprints and the dance of Trinity all around you, and you too will be ruined for the ordinary.

Dei Gratia,

Monty