So, the next item on the list that I have been blogging through is “accomplish the great commission.” Being a part of the Antioch movement seems to ingrain this one in our brains. I did find this statement in the article pretty funny:

A “go” atmosphere creates expectation and excitement, and transforms a dull Christian life into an action thriller.

It just made think of a really cheesy idea for an action thriller: The Missionary! Somewhere in there is probably a really good idea for a cool, entertaining training video. Or at least a really funny one.

Sometimes, though, we have to watch out for ideas like this. Not the one about sharing the great commission. The one about Christian life being an action thriller. Don’t get me wrong – there can some great times to be had when you follow the Lord. But there are also the hard times when it’s not too exciting.

The secret is to realize how bad unrealistic expectations can be for our sanity. If you can’t control whether an expectation is fulfilled, then you will become depressed, upset, or downright cranky when it doesn’t. Something like “I will have an exciting day every day of my life” is just something that will be out of our control from time to time. However, something like “I will look for the exciting aspect in everything I deal with every day” is much better – because you can control that one by making a choice. Notice that it doesn’t say “find the exciting aspect.” You can look for something all you want, but there is no guarantee that you will find it.

Reaching out to the lost can also breed these types of expectations. If you start the day with the goal to “convert 3 people” by the end of the day, you might end up a little disappointed if everyone you share Jesus with that day ends up rejecting Him. But if you have the goal of “sharing the love of Jesus with most of the people I meet today,” you can be in control of whether or not that goal is realized.