Supremely Ordinary

Jesus’ life on this earth presents a paradox of unparalleled proportions. The New Testament proclaims that Jesus’ death brings us life. The perfect, sinless man took on our sin. He who gave life to all things on this planet experienced the sting of death.

It is this tension between the humanity and the deity of Christ that makes Him so familiar yet so difficult to understand. There is none higher, there is none greater. Yet He humbled Himself in life and death.

Hebrew 1:3 explains, “He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the power of His word. Colossians 1:15 further states, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God.” Yet Jesus was fully human knowing the same temptations and limitations as us. Jesus was a very ordinary guy. Scripture describes Jesus as being like us in every way yet without sin (Hebrews 2:17, 4:15)

Jesus who made all things experienced ordinary life coming down in the form of a little baby born to a poor family. The King of Kings toiled as a laborer in an obscure village in a small country. He who ushered in divine mercy for all who would believe on Him knew hardship, betrayal, oppression, ridicule and injustice.

Jesus never really sought fame or the spotlight. Yet He became the most famous man in human history. Millions have proclaimed allegiance to Jesus as God and Savior.

Jesus had limitless power and authority to call down angelic warriors on His behalf. Yet, he went like a lamb to the slaughter. Jesus could have made an incredible palace for Himself. But He frequently went from place-to-place with no real home to call His own. Yes, Jesus was a homeless King.

Jesus is love. Yet, He knew what it felt like to be hated and despised. Worthy of highest praise, He was ridiculed and mocked by the elites of the day. Jesus was, and is, and is to come. He cannot be limited in time. Yet, His earthly ministry lasted only three short years.

It is in this great paradox that we find access to God and reason to stand in awe of Him. Jesus is the supreme One worthy of highest glory. Yet He was very ordinary – giving us all hope that we can follow His example and in some respects be like Him. While we will never become God, we can become godly and imitate Christ’s life. Face-to-face with this paradox. I am reminded of what Jesus said about His disciples. He said that they would do greater things than He had done because He was returning to the Father.

Do I really believe that? Can I really do greater things? Will Jesus find faith on the earth when He returns? I want to be so extraordinary. But I feel so ordinary at times. Lord I believe. Help me with my unbelief because You are Supremely Ordinary.

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Divide and Conquer

Satan’s playbook is fairly simple. He divides and conquers. This includes churches, cities, races, people groups, families, God and man, and the generations.

Over the last year, I have become increasingly convinced that a key to revival in this country is connecting the generations to appreciate, pour into and learn from each other. Churches divide people into age and interest groups in a move to appeal to consumerist tendencies. Give people what they want, and then they will come back. But what if what we want is not the thing we really need?

Now, I am all for youth groups, seniors groups, MOPS, the choir and so on. But there need to be more, intentional efforts to connect these various groups. I know what you are thinking. Yeah, we do that every Sunday. It is called a church service. But realistically, it is hard to connect on a personal level with others at church service.

I believe churches that are intentional about connecting the generations will see greater moves of the Spirit.

Craig Groeschel, lead pastor of LifeChurch.tv, spoke at last year’s Catalyst Conference on this topic. Groeschel, said, “Generational division is bad although generational tension can be a good thing.”

He admonished the audience, “Don’t resent, fear or judge the next generation. But pour into the next generation. Let the young folks lead. They are different and supposed to be that way. Don’t get hung up on style.”

In reality, many older folks in our churches eel insecure around teenagers and young adults. Groeschel suggested, “Recognize this tension and manage it by letting go of it… You can be uncool all day long. The key is to be real.”

I believe that there will be an exchange of grace that will annoy the “hell” out of our enemy if we realize what the older can give to the younger and visa versa.

Groeschel encouraged younger folks to honor those older than us publicly because honor publicly leads to influence and respect privately. He explained, “When we truly honor those authorities that God has placed in our lives, we honor God.”

From the Greatest Generation to the Boomers and the Xers to the Millennials, we all can learn from each other. But this doesn’t happen by accident. We have to start somewhere. I think the best place to start is to give those different from you a chance. Don’t just think they are an old geezer or a young punk. Consider this advice offered by Groeschel, “Honor believes the best. Dishonor thinks the worst.”