It is tempting to pursue mediocrity. Why reach for greatness when it’s so much easier to just be average? After all, if we’re average, plenty of others are below average, so average should do just fine. The problem is, in terms of our faith, love, and goodness, Jesus expects more. In Matthew 5:47[1], Jesus asks, “If you greet only your brothers, what is there extraordinary about that? Even the heathen do as much.”
Jesus isn’t looking for average or the status quo. Jesus expects more. Jesus calls us to be extraordinary. Now, He doesn’t expect us to be extraordinary on our own, but He illuminates the path to such a life. But will we choose such a path? The extraordinary path of faithfulness isn’t an easy one. It would be much easier to do what most other people do. But the path of worldly normalcy is not the path Jesus trod, nor the path He wants us to walk. Choose the Lord, and choose the extraordinary.
[1] REB