Do Hard Things

Underachievers. Irresponsible. Unreliable. These are the words that describe many teenagers today. Our culture places such low expectations on teens that they have descended to meet the expectations.

Teenage twins Brett and Alex Harris are seeking to change that. They have written a book called Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion against Low Expectations.




But are low expectations the realm of teens alone? I think not. In American church culture, it is evident that we also have low expectations for our members.

If you go to church on Sundays and attend Sunday School, give 10% of your income, and maybe even attend a fellowship, then you are in good shape. Heck, if you do those things long enough, you might even be asked to teach or be a deacon or trustee or a leader of some sort.

But is that what Christianity is all about? Seriously? Jesus said in John 14:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Somehow expectations have shifted and mediocre Christianity is considered normal, and complete and total surrender to the Lordship of Christ is considered "radical." Read Jesus' words again. If you are in him and he is in you, you will bear MUCH fruit.

But it's not just any kind of fruit, it should be fruit that is worthy of an awesome God. William Carey, who is also known as the "Father of Modern Missions" put it best when he said, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." Our God is a great and mighty God; shouldn't the fruit that we are to be bearing in our lives be demonstrative of that power?

How much and what kind of fruit would God say your life is producing right now? If it's not what it should be, what are you going to do about it?