Its interesting how often I hear the word balance in our culture and how often I hear it in the church as a Biblical or Christ-like value.  As I search the gospels and the rest of the scriptures and as I look at the life of Jesus, I see nothing but imbalance.  Blessed are the poor...then there is the time Jesus tips over tables and curses a fig tree, then Jesus weeps, then he tells the disciples to leave their families and take up the cross and follow Him, then he calls out to the Father on the cross.  Balance is not a reality when you really follow Jesus because Jesus is the epitome of counter cultural behavior.  Balance is a a middle to upper class American value based on what Tony Campolo calls the Success Fantasy.  In fact, following Jesus is more like a roller coaster (thanks Mike Yaconelli) than it is about a balanced lifestyle.  Jesus wants every part of us, our time, our lives, our heart, our passions, our money, our success, our families, our failures, our relationships, our faith--all of it.  When you give your whole life to Jesus it becomes impossible to have what the world calls balance.

Just some thoughts from a guy trying to love Jesus...