Why (Aren't) You So Extra?

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And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also (Genesis 1:16).

If the test of a good sermon is how long you remember it, then one of the best sermons that I have ever heard was preached by one of my mentors during my freshman year in college.

I can’t believe that was 32 years ago. Wow.

The title of the sermon was “The Glory Of The UnRequired.” The premise was simple: true greatness is won by doing the stuff that you don’t have to do. To illustrate the point, Dean Carter used the biblical account of the creation of the stars. He reminded us that after God created the Sun (the greater light) and the Moon (the lesser light), no further light was necessary. But God is so amazing, generous and kind that according to the text, “he made the stars also.” It’s easy to rush by that observation. But Dean Carter kept hammering the point home. He kept telling us that the universe already had enough light. But God “made the stars also.” The Sun and the Moon were adequate. But God is extravagant, almost recklessly so.

God put a little extra on it.

Exactly how much extra God put on it almost defies comprehension. There are hundreds of millions of stars. The Red dwarf star OGLE-TR-122b is currently the smallest known star. Its radius is 0.12 solar radii, which is 167,000 km, or almost 104,000 miles. Let that soak in for a minute. The smallest star is more than 208,000 miles WIDE (The radius is half the diameter). God is so extra. All that light wasn’t even necessary. The Sun and the Moon were more than adequate.

Question: If God is so extra, why aren’t we?

These days, when someone says “you’re so extra,” it usually isn’t a compliment. Typically , it’s an insult. It is most often said in response to some display of emotion or investment of energy that is deemed inappropriate or unnecessary. In fact, most of us learn quite early not to give ourselves freely to anything or anyone to avoid embarrassment or rejection. We tip toe through life, studiously avoiding commitment. As Jim Carey put it, we “disguise our fear as practicality”.

Some of us never do enough. We never do our best, never invest in people, never expose our ideas; and never take a risk.

Some of us do just enough. Just enough to get in, just enough to get through, just enough to get by, or just enough to get over.

Perhaps it’s time for you to adopt our Creator’s approach: do more than enough. Perhaps it’s time for you to go beyond what’s expected, to exceed the requirement, to surpass the minimum.

Think about the last time someone went out of their way to serve you. Do you remember how it made you feel?

A few years ago a group from our church attended a leadership conference in Chicago. One morning, we went to IHOP for breakfast. We were extremely hungry, extremely loud and extremely demanding. We worked our poor waiter like a slave. I don’t remember how much the bill was. But I do remember that waiter providing us with some of the best service that I have ever received. Almost nothing he did was required. He went over and above what was expected, especially at a fine dining establishment like IHOP.

Before leaving, I gave him an EXTREMELY large tip, probably the largest tip I have ever given to any waiter before or since. He started crying. I told him how incredible his service was. His extra service made me feel special. My extra tip made him feel special. In both cases, we experienced the glory of the unrequired.

A special grace and glory rests on those who do more than is required. You get extra credit.

Go out of your way TODAY to do something EXTRA.