Your mission today (should you choose to accept it) is to get yourself up out of bed and throw yourself out into the world. That’s right: Get up and get out.
My, how daring we are! Well, yes, when you consider how dangerous a place the world is, and how inadequate we feel when we try to make a difference in it. But just read this:
“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NIV)
Now there is a picture: You and me having a significant effect on people, churning up reactions as varied as life and death by our mere presence. It’s no surprise Paul would wonder, in the next breath, who, if any, might be equal to this task. It’s a rhetorical question that he intends to answer, and he does in the next chapter. “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God who has made us adequate.” 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NIV) In other words, we aren’t adequate, but we are. We aren’t adequate in ourselves, but we are in Christ. And we find this out when we jump into the world, believing.
By believing, you are taking the particular characteristics of a believer (a person in whom God’s presence is a factor) out into the world, and by nature of your presence in the world and the presence of Christ in your life, you will make a difference. So, you see, it is all about literally throwing yourself out there and trusting that God shows up when you do, even when you don’t exactly know what’s going to happen next, you just know you’ll be ready when it does by nature of the Spirit of God in you. How about that for living dangerously?
As a friend of mine said once, almost nonchalantly, a true Christian is choosing the most dangerous occupation in the world. I think he’s right, not only because Satan is alive and well on planet earth working to discredit those who believe, but because God likes us living on the edge in believing him. I really don’t think faith is mainstream. I don’t think it gets the popular vote. Real faith does not win mass-market appeal. True faith is a challenge of wits. It’s the mover and shaker of the status quo. Faith kicks us out of our safety net and into the world. If nothing’s on the line, then there’s no faith required. That’s dangerous, but all the more exhilarating when God shows up and shows himself to be true to his promises.
So get up and get out. It’s the only way to truly find out!
by John Fischer
Used by Permission
FURTHER READING
• The Walk of Obedience – by Mary Pinckney
• Blessed Obedience – by Idelette McVicker
• God Requires Risky Obedience – by Jon Walker