Raising your game

It had been a terrific day in so many ways. The bride had turned up on time, the ‘I do’s’ and ‘I will’s’ all came out in the right order, the sun had radiated its’ beams on cue and the parents of the bride had come out of the day without administrators filing for their bankruptcy. To top off what had been a great wedding, a Ceilidh had been arranged into the wee hours of the morning. (for those who are not sure what a Ceilidh is, imagine lots of rhythm-less  people trying to follow a bearded man shouting out complex instructions, involving intricate footsteps and body movements – all accompanied by fiddling folk music!).

Our kids had lasted well - stuffed with more buffet food than is surely good for them and fizzing with E numbers from their steady stream of soft drinks. But now they were ready to drop and they required a little assistance from dad in order to make their way to the car before a long drive home.

We normally keep quite a strict routine in our home regarding bed times and this was certainly a significant exception - one that has often been referred to. In fact whenever a late night was proposed in the following years, they would ask the question ‘will it be later than the wedding?’ The exceptional late night experience had set a ‘benchmark’ – something they would use for years to come in order to measure true lateness.

Benchmarks can be such experiences that set a standard – a standard that ‘things’ either rise to and exceed, or fall short of and miss. They create definition of what we would either like to achieve or avoid – articulating our hopes and expectations. We all create them - benchmarks that set ‘our’ standard.

I enjoy playing the piano and I’ve played in various bands (although I lacked the foot tapping skills for a ceilidh band) over the years. In some of these bands I may have been perceived as one of the stronger musicians – possibly a benchmark? I would try and help others in developing their musical abilities in order to see their standard rise. But I was in danger – I had reached my own standard and was consistently satisfying my own expectations. Complacency, mediocrity and apathy often lurk around the corner in such circumstances and all of these become a real anaesthetic in our lives. I needed a new benchmark!

I remember feeling my jaw dropping as I looked on in amazement at the piano keys being played at super speed at a Jools Holland concert – it was so inspiring. I had never seen the piano played in that way before. I also remember feeling astounded when I began to play with some professional musicians who were light years beyond me in their ability. They pushed me and made me feel like a learner again but it was good - So often feeling like a ‘comfortable pro’ can be more dangerous than feeling like a ‘developing learner’. I valued the ‘L’ plates that I had reapplied and knew that the impending sedative of complacency was gone – a new benchmark had indeed been set.

Maybe there are others who consider ‘us’ to be their benchmark of Christian spirituality. They look on desirous to learn from our example, hoping to rise to the heights they may have perceived in us. Maybe we’re aware of the way they look to us and so do all we can to assist them on their journey. It’s good to realise they are there and look in their direction. The apostle Paul in 1 Corinth 11:1 faced all those looking up to him and said ‘Follow my example’. For many this missionary journeying, faith filled church planter had become their benchmark.

But Paul wasn’t complacent. He goes on to say ‘Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ’. Despite all his achievements, all his acts of adventure, all the crowds who hung onto his words, Paul had another benchmark – the person of Christ Jesus.

Does your benchmark needs raising? Do you need to be in the presence of a higher standard? Can you see a pacesetter ahead of you? Ask Jesus to renew your vision of him and reveal a new level through others who are ahead of you in their Christ following journey. Don’t let complacency create a premature finishing line in your life – there is more of the journey to travel.