Redefining Normal

I started running this past summer.  Since I had never really run before, my distances were short and my breaks were many.  Now, I typically run 5 miles or more without stopping at all.  But, when I think back to it, it's almost funny.  I used to think that 3 miles was a long way. Now, 3 miles is just a normal run.  I used to think about running for more than an hour and it literally made me question my sanity.


Last Saturday, I went running with my pastor, Michael Manuel (who is incredibly encouraging, by the way - I wish I had been more encouraging to him during the run!), and we went a total of 8 miles.  Literally, after the 6 mile mark every step was further than I had ever been before.  It was exciting!  Anyway, while we were running, I commented that I used to think 3 miles was a long way and Michael said that all the time he has to redefine "normal."  Interestingly enough, it's been the same sort of thought process for me as well.


You see, here's the thing.  Normal a relative term, isn't it?  Normal just depends on the perspective of the viewer.  What is normal for me may be entirely crazy for you.  Does that make sense?


So, we continued running.  We finished.  But, my brain was still going 90-to-nothing.


Question:  What does a normal Christian look like?
Another question:  What should a normal Christian look like?


The Bible is very clear on the topic, actually.


"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'" Matthew 16:24


"And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead.  But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'"  Luke 9:60


"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.'"  Mark 10:21


The things (and there are many more examples than what I've given) that Jesus called us to do as believers are things that look very crazy to the world.  They are things that make people stop and question our intentions.  They are things that may even make us stop and question our own sanity.  But, it's there.  In the Word.  Plain as day.


The point I'm (in a very roundabout way) getting to is this:  When I go out and run 8 miles some people will not understand what I'm doing or why, and will even look at me like I'm crazy, but it's a normal thing to me now.  What they think doesn't matter because it's not crazy to me.  What if we believed Jesus and acted on His calling in our lives to live in a way that some people won't understand, that they might say is crazy?


If we live that life long enough, if we pursue that end hard enough, we'll see it as a normal way of living.  We won't care any longer what people think or say because our definition of normal will have changed.  It's like Michael said - we've got to constantly be in the process of redefining the "normal" of our lives to be centered around what Jesus said our lives should look like.  Of course, that means you have to be willing to look pretty crazy to a lot of people.


So.  What's your definition of normal?