“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag” (Matthew 19:26, Message).
I think Americans are becoming too safety conscious.
We’ve become the most risk-adverse generation in history. We’ve made everything so safe, that the only danger we’re in is of taking all the fun out of life! I mean, I can’t even take a Tylenol without getting a worse headache trying to get the bottle open!
I’m not sure that we would even have an America if today’s generation had to pioneer it. Can you imagine Columbus asking for trip insurance? Or Lewis and Clark not willing to travel without their GPS. What if Davy Crockett had refused to fight at the Alamo without insisting they have commercial fire insurance? Do you think Daniel Boone would have killed a bear if his parents had insisted he not play with knives?
Christians have carried this desire to play it safe into the church. We’ve diminished Christ’s call of sacrifice to a syrupy sentimentality and safety. We’re in danger of boring ourselves and our children to death with this watered-down version of the gospel.
But Jesus didn’t call us to a safe life. He called us to follow Him. He didn’t say, “Look, these Romans and Jewish leaders are probably going to kill me, but maybe they won’t give you much trouble.”
No, Jesus told them that He was headed to the cross and that they needed to be ready to take up theirs too.
The call of Christ isn’t to safety. It’s to significance.
… Now, would you mind helping me open this cap?
I agree. The call is not always safe and secure. The deceiver plants road blocks and fear in our ways. I’m racing motorcycles for the Kingdom this year…. Not to win races, but to win souls. Can you say “pitch it sideways at 60 mph”?