I am currently reading Do Hard Things by Alex And Brett Harris, two teens from Portland, OR.  Through their website The Rebelution, these brothers have begun challenging the teens of our society to do reject the low expectations that society places on them and to do more for the Lord.  I am finding the book a pleasure to read in it clear call to teens by teens to be live a life set apart and exceptional for God.

Not only do I find the book one that I will highly recommend to my students, but I am also finding things that I need to consider as well.  The following excerpt made gave me pause:

Bre, a high-school senior from Indiana, experienced low expectations firsthand.  She, along with other young people, had participated in some community service projects and afterward gave a report to her church.  Following the service, she overheard a man saying, “Aren’t you glad these kids aren’t out smoking pot or drinking?”

“That comment just broke my heart,” Bre wrote to us, “because there truly is a level of mediocrity that has infiltrated nut just our culture, but our churches as well.”  Being consdered a good teen only requires that we don’t do bad stuff like taking drugs, drinking, and partying.  But is it enough to be known for the negative things we don’t do, or should we also be known for the positive things that we do?

I wonder if this message isn’t one that we should all hear, not just teens.  How many of us are satisfied with being more righteous than his neighbor or co-worker?  How many of us cover ourselves with the self-righteous cloak of the sins that we don’t commit?  Are we satisfied with being “shadow-Christians,” who like a shadow are defined by the absence of something and yet have no actual substance?  Or do we desire something more - to be known for our love and desire for God and a passion for His Word?