The Fantastic Offence of Possibility

The Fantastic Offence of Possibility

I am a big fan of the show "Man vs. Wild" on the Discovery Channel. The host, author and seasoned adventurer of the show Bear Grylls, in each episode strands himself in popular wilderness destinations where tourists often find themselves lost or in danger. Once there he finds his way back to civilization, demonstrating local survival techniques along the way. Now, to say the least, this show offers a testosterone boost that I find quite enjoyable. But there is much about the show I must say I don't enjoy, and quite frankly find offensive. Usually, when I get offended it does not come via profanity, perversity, or even hateful action. The offense that I am most prone to is, when through the actions of another that produces great possibility and provision, my limiting perspectives are exposed. Though this offense is not always enjoyable for me, I frequently welcome it. For more than often, it requires a personal willingness to offend my limiting perspectives to reveal greater possibility.

A few months ago, I was watching an episode of "Man vs. Wild." Bear was trekking in what I would have described as a "God Forsaken" desert somewhere where in the middle of nowhere Africa. He had been traveling for a few days and was succumbing to dehydration. With sawdust-like dry lips and a sun scorned face, Bear continued his commentary to the camera while making the distorted pronunciations of a mouth gone completely arid. Without even his own urine available to drink (an actual legitimate survival practice), I sensed that this was going to finally be the show where Bear would throw in the towel and have to radio in for help and call the adventure off. At least to me, this seemed the only available possibility. Then Bear stumbled across a big pile of elephant dung and quickly began to assess it. As he probed and dissected the elephant feces with his fingers, I thought, "This guy has gone completely mad. Someone give this guy a Gatorade and put him (and me) out of this misery." Bear went on to describe the moist nature of this stool sample. Awkwardly, he seemed somewhat delighted by this detail. He then knelt down, picked up a healthy portion of the droppings, lifted it above his head, squeezed the contents and commenced to refresh himself with the dark stank liquid that emerged from it. Dinking his fill, Bear continued on, to not only survive but find civilization - to find freedom. Possibility and provision were found where I had only seen limitation. Once again, I had been fantastically offended!

With all the trials, I have been blessed to engage and I have stood with and witnessed others engage - I have become personally convinced of this: that in any situation, any experience, and in any given moment, what available to me is both limitation and possibility. Moreover, in any given moment, I can choose which to engage and I do not believe there is much, if any, middle ground. No circumstance has illuminated this concept more to me than my firstborn, and son, Micaiah being diagnosed with autism.

Shortly after watching the "Man vs. Wild" episode, I was asked to speak at a large Autism Awareness fundraising event in my community. Having been connected with the network of parents with autistic children in my community I was aware of the many limiting conversations expressed by parents, teachers, and community supporters in regards to this issue. Personally, I am intimately aware and well-experienced in many of the limiting conversations available on the topic of autism. Frankly, I have and will at times, allow these conversations to overwhelm my perspective on this topic.

The event was amazing, with a great turn out of people, many of which had little experience with autism. There were a few speakers before me (parents, special education coordinators, etc) and I was scheduled to speak last. Some of the content delivered by the speakers prior to me, in my assessment, addressed many of the limitations of autism. I experience a nervousness that I was not familiar with as I approached the podium when it was my turn to speak; most memory of a prepared speech had been thrown out the window. The opening statement to my speech was; "I am here for a possibility, a possibility called Autism"… It was even offensive to me, but we raised $25,000 that night!

Jesus Christ - The Great Possibility, was and is an offense to many. This is so for believers and nonbelievers, alike. Most, if not all, offenses that Jesus caused occurred when He offered, spoke of, and lived in a way that exposed possibility beyond what many considered. Jesus constantly offended the Pharisees and religious leaders with His out of the box practices and perspectives. Many were offended by Jesus and opened themselves to greater possibility, and many were offended by Him only to position themselves more in what there perspectives were limited to. I can't really blame the latter - after all, limitation, (i.e. choosing not to consider possibility beyond my perspective), often comes with the rewards of comfort, familiarity, and my personal favorite - being right.

I challenge you the reader, to in this moment, ask yourself these four questions:

What circumstance(s) in my life do I perceive as limiting?
What does my limiting perspective offer me? (i.e. Prices/Rewards)
Where could God's provision be?
Finally, am I willing to be an invitation to be fantastically offended?

Robb Farrell

Copyright © 2007 the Association for Christian Character Development. All rights reserved. Protected intellectual property.