Extreme
Stay safe or be extreme?
Some people are driven to take on extreme challenges: the scariest ride at an amusement park, the dangerous mountain biking trail, the very high zip line, or to take their chance on getting into their “reach” school. The thrill of taking the chance is worth the risk of failure—or injury.[1]
I tend to be that way, though not to the same extent as some. I had many sports injuries because I took a lot of chances at getting to the soccer ball first or getting the header against someone much taller. I incurred many broken bones, but I also had unexpected victories at times!
Today we have extreme sports, extreme betting, and any number of diverse extreme desires, as well as extreme addictions to our iPhones and internet gaming, and pornography. Counter to Christian values and virtue, we are wise not to embrace such inordinate desires. Instead, we ought to remember the clear teachings of Christ: “If your eye offends you pluck it out” (Matt 5:29). Our single overwhelming and all-consuming desire should be to “love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves” (Luke 10:27).
I would suggest that being a Christian itself—thoroughly seeking to please God and to love him fully—is extreme. It is far more extreme (as well as glorious and beautiful) than all the excessive passions and desires that are incited by images and themes in our media today.
Think about these extreme statements that should guide us in our life in society. But they are very hard to follow. In fact, in our modern global culture, they are extreme!
- Have sex only with your wife (or husband) all your life long. No one else.
- At set times, completely fast from eating food.
- Even if someone does not apologize or make restitution—that is, even when there is no justice—forgive the person who hurts you or damages your reputation or prevents you from getting a job.
Is this enough to exemplify how “extreme” it is to live a life that follows Jesus?
Let’s further explore these themes.
Regarding sexual activity, every message in popular culture—from television and movies to psychology and sociology classes, to social media to college culture—tells us it is healthy to seek to fulfill your every desire. Yet, Jesus tells us to take up our cross and die to self and to unhealthy desires. The healthy spiritual life is a life of self-control and patience. Fidelity is beautiful because it mirrors God’s faithfulness to us.
As for fasting, one might ask, in a world of so many remarkable foods and an overabundance of advertising that uses food and drink to entice people, why fast? Very simply, Jesus assumed his people would fast, stating in Matthew 6:16: “When you fast. . .” The early church continued that practice and wrote about it through the centuries. For many it is hard to fast for a full day. We get hungry, or lightheaded, or tired. Recognizing some people have medical issues and can’t fast, most of us can, but it is hard to do every week! However, such self-control is a beautiful characteristic that reflects and embodies the sustenance of God. Weekly fasting might be considered “extreme,” but it carries a hidden and extreme good.
Finally, and probably the most “extreme” statement that marks the Christian, is when Jesus told his followers both to “forgive” (Matt 6:12) and to “love your enemies” (Luke 6:35). By our very nature we cannot abide the thought of someone getting away with doing something horrible without paying the price. We call this hankering for justice. But in this fallen world, there is not perfect justice. But there is a God of love who has paid the price for all injustice and wrong. We may seek justice—and so we should do so for others first—but it will never be accomplished perfectly in this world. We are called to forgive. The perfect, ultimate and most extreme example of this keeps coming back to Jesus on the cross: “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). He did not say “Give them what they deserve,” or “Make them ask for forgiveness and then I will forgive them.”
To forgive from the heart, especially in the absence of “justice,” may be the most difficult act of Christian obedience we will ever have to exercise. In our narcissistic world of self-fulfillment, forgiving others is an extreme lifestyle.
But forgiveness is at the core of the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples. It can only be ignored at the risk of our own forgiveness!
Can we lift up our “extreme faith” in a world of self-gratification and “fulfillment of desires?” If we do, I believe the Christian witness will be very attractive, and we will see revivals across the land.
Jesus, we ask that you forgive us for our weak, diluted, unfocused, and clouded discipleship. Send your Holy Spirit, beginning with church leaders, to embody the extreme Christian life of joy and fulfillment that comes with following Jesus. Give us an extra portion of your Spirit as we live the life of Christ and proclaim his message of hope and peace in a hopeless and anxious world. Give us Jesus. Amen.
[1] “List of Extreme Sports,” Extreme International
Dr. Scott W. Sunquist, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is author of the “Attentiveness” blog. He welcomes comments, responses, and good ideas.