Playing it Safe

Playing it safe is not the same as being safe. Following Jesus implies letting go of our precautions of playing it safe. Jesus is not a set of rules or safety precautions. On the contrary, He is the Life of searching out and being found, trusting and taking steps relying only on His fatherly love.

Peter was not following a doctrine when he walked on water. Jesus is the living God. If you want to follow Him, then you need to have your mind made up on what it takes to do that from your end.

Taking the extra step to trust Him and go beyond the comfort zones built by our fears and insecurities is the greatest declaration of the victory of Christ.

We have the opportunity to live a fuller and more meaningful life. We decide how we spend our days. Many attempt to define it as black and white. I see a different reality. I see the life of God calling us to participate. The dynamics of His call and our response is what many call life of faith, which is really the truth, as opposed to the fallen reality that the world has been accustomed to.

In the early days of discovering our lives in Christ, many attempts to break out of the old way of thinking may be required from us, in order to come to know Him. Or in other words, we would need to repent from what we were used to and renew the way we think and align it to our true identity in Christ, no longer being slaves of the lies of the enemy but being rooted in God's love for us. This awakening brings out the good, the bad and the ugly out on the surface. After a while of struggling back and forth, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live in accordance with what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good or of any virtue and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). That is when we start peeking out of the window to go get 'ours'. Of course this is not a linear process, but a cyclic one. We will regularly, periodically and continuously require to undergo self examination and align ourselves with our true identity, spend time with Him and on the field, back and forth, rooted in the life which is in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the life we call eternal or Zoe.

Now when it's time to go get our 'own' in this jungle called world, there comes a time when we would need to follow Him and even if we may say 'catch up' with Him. He will 'wait' for us for our first baby steps and training, but then it's time to run. He promises to make us run faster than horses (Jeremiah 12:5, 1 Kings 18:46).

Trusting in God's grace requires courage. But even courage is a gift given by the Spirit as a result of Christ's death and resurrection. We are by nature over-comers.

So which life is truly safe? the truth or the lie? The poor or the rich? The worldly or the heavenly? The depraved or the royal?

But why is this not so obvious to the masses? The answer is found in Paul's letters:

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ." (2 Cor 4:3-6)

Which life promises treasures beyond what our minds can imagine or perceive? Which life do you want to have? What if what seems safe to you is a lie and what seems unsafe is the only true life? What would that mean? And how could one break free from the fear or handicapped state? The answer is again in the above verse: The Gospel!

I believe that preaching the declaration of the truth of the gospel breaks the enemy's attempts to keep people under the bondages of lies. Our preaching is not by mere words, but power and deeds of love. The Gospel contains all of God's power to break people free, that is why Paul says that he is not ashamed of it (Rom 1:16).

Christ put death to death. We have a great opportunity. Christ: the Image of the Father has united us with Him! Let us live it out! Let us have our share in humiliating the defeated devil. Let us have our share in Christ's sufferings and His glory! Let us take part in the expansion of His Kingdom by our every day lives! Blessings!