In Mark, Jesus told a man, “Anything is possible if a person believes.” We love writing that on sticky notes and tacking them to our mirrors, but I don’t know many Christians who live lives where anything seems possible.
Most of us live ordinary lives that don’t really go beyond anything anyone else experiences. And I don’t think this should be the way believers live. I think we should live innovative lives—filled with possibilities no one else can even comprehend.
I’m not talking about being rich or famous. I’m talking about incredible relationships, fulfilling careers, and peace that passes understanding.
But how do you get to that place? How do you start living an innovative life? Here are seven things I believe Christians can do to fill their lives with possibilities.
Develop an incessant hope.
Many people give up their dreams because they don’t have a hope for the future. We need to live lives that see beyond what is clearly visible. We need to believe deep in our hearts that more exists than what we see. A hope that there are greater things ahead.
Reject the idea that something’s impossible.
How do we reconcile “everything is possible” with what we see in this world? It does seem like some things are impossible. But the truth is, when we see something that seems impossible, we just haven’t found the secret to making it possible yet.
We need to start seeing things that look impossible as opportunities. It appears that it’s impossible now, but that just means I need to figure out how to make it possible. I already know what won’t work… What will?
Question everything.
Remember that time in your life when you asked “why” for everything? That might have driven your parents crazy. But that was a vital time in your life to learn and to understand the world.
Unfortunately, at some point, you stopped asking why. And that’s when your learning began to slow down.
Let’s incorporate that “why” back into our lives. Maybe not verbally…but internally. Always seek to understand.
Don’t make snap decisions.
Biologists call this fight or flight response. It’s the snap judgment we make when confronted by an enemy to help us stay alive. But that sort of response isn’t helpful when it comes to innovation.
If your safety isn’t at risk, take a bit of time before forming your decisions and opinions. This will help you see the situation more clearly by not immediately shutting off your brain once you’ve decided.
Stop seeing the world in black and white.
I’m not talking about sin. I’m talking about those things that the Bible doesn’t really talk about. (Politics falls heavily in this category.)
Stop seeing things so black and white, so that you can see the way things really are. Things are rarely black or white, they’re more often fluctuating shades—and not just grey, but beautiful colors from all over the spectrum.
Change your perspective frequently.
Get out and see the world. Try to see things from someone else’s perspective—even someone you don’t agree with.
We only ever see one side of the coin. But there’s more than just one side to any issue. Get a better, outside perspective on things.
Never compromise by taking the easy way.
Innovation takes hard work. If we want to live innovative lives filled with possibilities, we’ll need to become masters at doing the tough work. Push through. Fight. Move.
Innovation doesn’t have to be just about the newest phone or tablet technology. We can live innovative lives—uncommon lives. We just need to position ourselves to do that.
Have you ever met someone you’d say lived an innovative life? Who are they and what did they do? Leave a comment below and chime in!