It seems that more and more the greatest Christian virtue has become balance, which seems completely opposite of Scripture's story. Somehow we've been led to believe that good Christians are those whose life produces the least amount of risk possible.
One look at the life of Scripture's heroes shows something completely different. Abraham? Moses? Deborah? Elijah? The Prophets? John the Baptist? Mary? Peter? Paul? Jesus? I don't think so.
These are men and women of outrageous dedication whose lives looked completely out of balance. The world tries to form us into the same mold as everyone else, but the Sermon on the Mount beckons us to buck that trend.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit? Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Don't be angry with anyone? Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Don't worry?
We're not called to be calibrated to the world's directional compass? We're called to be calibrated to the life of Jesus Christ, which puts us way off balance.
Maddox, may God bless you with an imbalanced life that looks like Jesus Christ. Along the way, you might want to take a risk for the kingdom of God. You might want to start an inner-city ministry or become a part of a Christian peacekeeping team in the midst of city torn apart by war. When you have those dreams, don't let your mother and I stand in the way of them. We might want you to stay safe, but don’t let our desire for your safety get in the way of God’s kingdom dream for you. I give you permission to defy us if we are standing in the way of you living out your kingdom vocation.
Should you choose to live this kind of imbalanced life, the world will look at you like you're crazy. However, few balanced people have ever changed the world. Be a risk taker for the kingdom of God. Perhaps nothing else will wake up Americans from our spiritual slumber than your risky life of discipleship!
1 comment:
take a risk....i like it!
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