Relentless

I have a beef with the way I was raised.  No, it isn’t with my parents though they were inadvertently part of the process.  My frustration is with the environment many conservative faiths tend to promote.  The core of my issue is has something to do with moderation, balance, and a lack of specialization.  I grew up in a community where nothing intense was encourage.  The desire of my teachers and mentors appeared to be balance.  We were taught to engage in everything.  The outcome was a gap in our  souls; we were rarely passionately intense, balance took priority over conviction, and we were rarely experts in anything. 
 
I find the “best” take a different course.  The best specialize in a specific core.  Those who excel concentrate in a specific area, to the exclusion of almost everything else.  There may be a part of their life in balance; yet to the casual observer their behavior borders on fanatical!  They are committed, passionate, and relentless.
 
I want to be on team, part of a community, associated with committed, passionate, and relentless individuals.  Couple this with views shaped by community, compassion, and being a part of something greater…you have the makings of God’s great tribe!
 
I find many, myself at times, running from this call of God.  The echoes are life-changing, as it the warnings that come with it.  “You've [I’ve] said, ‘Nothing doing! We'll rush off on horseback!’
 
You'll rush off, all right! Just not far enough!  You've said, ‘We'll ride off on fast horses!’  Do you think your pursuers ride old nags?  Think again: A thousand of you will scatter before one attacker. Before a mere five you'll all run off.  There'll be nothing left of you—a flagpole on a hill with no flag, a signpost on a roadside with the sign torn off.
 
But God's not finished.  He's waiting around to be gracious to you.  He's gathering strength to show mercy to you.  God takes the time to do everything right—everything.  Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.”  (Isaiah 30.16-18)