Living Life in the MIDDLE

I was sitting in church this morning, and the message hit me… pulled me back to a classroom about 9 years ago, when I was hit with the reality that being focused on the perimeter in life is no good, and the center is where it all comes from.  So I am going to re-write this “sermon” into what I think might be a good way to push you into the center of life and out of the perimeter.

First off, you don’t need to be a Christian to get something out of this, so don’t shy away.  The ideas of living along the margin vs the middle will impact anyone I will just add my own spin of Christ in.  So, what is on the periphery?  All the specific stuff, and as we look at the male model of living, it is loaded with this stuff that I love:

1. Business venture, creating and building, growing and leading.
2. Sport.  Fitness.  Achievement on a physical level.  Or for someone not inclined to fitness… building something, usual with our hands.  Man likes to get dirty in some way, sweat a little, and to achieve.
3. Wealth Management, saving, investing, outlining and planning.
4. The opposite sex.  Period.

Women tend to live differently.  From my observations I would say that we can put them into these areas:

1. Relationship building.
2. Communication.  Gossip at times, or at least interest in what others are doing, achieving, etc.
3. Shopping acquiring, beautifying.
4. Creating order.  This includes kids, but is not always evident in other areas until deeper inspection.  But most women appreciate order.

So it should be no wonder, that men are more susceptible to recessing into the deep dark quiet corners of life, and to never emerge to see a living person other than themselves, again.  Where as women, their periphery always leads them to other people.  Well, mostly.  This is why men are so messed up.  We get so caught up in the getting done of life, that we sometimes forget that there is a life happening.  I am in this phase right now, and I am pushing to get out of it, but i have been building and developing beyond my limits for a few years.  And now, I am trying to get things to that comfy stage, where I can rely more on team members and associates, and less on me.

Getting there… even with the opening of my new gym, CrossFit Bridgemill… I am getting there.  But just because I am deep into these things that are periphery, it doesn’t mean that I am out of the middle.  The middle.  Christ for me resides in the middle, and abundance flows through him.  But like I said earlier, you don’t have to be a Christian to flow with abundance.  I have met those people, as have you, who are a fully open book of abundance because they have a genuine love for those around them.

And now, we have arrived.

Love.  The middle is where we stop, and we recognize that love is key.  That deep down, I love you.  That I love my wife, my kids, my parents.  That I love my enemies.  That I might have anger towards someone who wronged me, but I love them.  I recently reached out to someone who had caused me some pain not to long ago.  In my reaching out, I gave a clear picture of how I felt about the incident, and I followed with a clear concern for where they are in the current moment.  Concern.  Why?  Because I love them.

Jumping out of the periphery, where we are focused only on those areas that are really superficial… superficial when present without the middle… is what brings meaning to the periphery.  Let me say that again more clear.

Being fit is useless.  Being rich is useless.  Being influential is useless. Having a relationship built on sex is useless.  Once you are an abundant being who blesses those around you more often than not: being fit will find importance and value, being rich will find benefit, being influential will bring change for good, and your relationships will flourish with true intimacy.

Its all pretty cool.

Christ said:

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I have told my daughters (borrowed this from Kyle Reese years ago if you know him), “In a moment I had an understanding for Christ’s love, for God’s love.  The moment was the moment you were born.”  – why daddy?  “Because in that moment I understood how he could love someone enough to die for them, without having physically met them.  Before I knew you other than a crying screaming baby, I would have died for you.”

At the center of the periphery, is the thing that implies importance.  It is a purpose, it is a more than a goal or a mission, it is a purpose.  And it starts with love.

Subluxation kills.  I have seen it.  Poor nutrition kills.  I have seen it.  Lack of exercise kills and I have seen that too.  If you want to be well, follow the truth.  Hopefully I will be able to find that truth to provide it for you.  Be well and Be blessed, ad please please please, bless someone else this day! – Dr. E