Over the Fence

So let's create this scenario....

You're a centerfielder for the Beat Boppin' baseball team.
This big bruiser from the opposing team, the Bruisers, comes up to the plate and nails one clear out to your part of the field. You immediately start backpedaling nearly to the fence. You bend down, pick up the ball and prepare to throw it to 2nd base to get the runner out...but STOP!

There is a choice that we must make.
1.) Throw the ball back to the infield (like any normal player would)
2.) or take the ball and throw it over the fence

Granted the second option sounds crazy, ridiculous. But what would happen if you actually did it? The crowd would think you're nuts, your team would start hollering and screaming, and the coach wouldn't be any too happy with your decision.

No one would understand why you did it.

A life chasing the cross isn't suppose to make sense to unbelievers either.

In our lives, if we choose to throw the ball over the fence what could happen? (I just want to clarify that I'm not trying to get anyone kicked off of their ball team. However, I'm going to challenge the natural thought process of simply doing what everyone else does.)

The infield, for me, stands for mediocrity; for me it's the American Dream. It's what everyone is going for. A big house in suburbia, a husband or wife, two kids, and a dog in the backyard; all in the confines of a safe neighborhood. This i dea of life after graduation seems safe and protected.

Beyond the fence is everything that is unknown. What kind of job will I have? Where will I live? Will I be married? Will I have children? But there is this great power in this unknown because over the fence is a life fully committed to not living my own dreams but living out God’s will. It’s frightening, but so worthy. The possibilities are limitless. There is no fence out there to confine us. There is an influence to be created, a path to be traveled, and a life to lead far greater than anything I would ever imagine.

Many question then “Why leave the safety of the infield?”
I question, “Why Not?”

Standing between mediocrity and a life foreign to limits is the fence. In my life, expectations from others is the fence that confines me. If I hurdle the fence, who and how many people will I disappoint? If life on the other side isn’t all that I think it may be will they mock me? Is it worth the embarrassment if I fail?

What is your fence?

Are you willing to jump it?

Over the next few weeks, I want to spend some time questioning if I’m willing to jump the fence; if so at what cost and how. Why would we do such of a crazy thing? What would motivate us to do so? What could possibly be worth making such a radical decision? The next posts that I make are going to dive into some of these questions and explain my thoughts on this idea of throwing the ball (our lives) over the fence.