It’s time to reacquaint ourselves with the adventurous life. Biblical Christianity, I would argue, can be nothing else.
Risky.
Challenging.
It demands that we continuously trust God and leap.
Jesus modeled this. The New Testament is full of examples. Consider this situation: Jesus is about to send the disciples out two-by-two. He gives them these instructions: “We gotta be wise here. Take as long as you need to save up for your journey. Be sure to take plenty of money with you and arrange your lodgings well in advance. When you enter into a new village, if they’re happy you’re there, stay briefly, so you don’t wear out your welcome. And, if there’s any resistance at all, leave quickly and quietly.
For goodness sake, don’t stir anything up!
Peter and John are hurrying to the temple past a disabled person who is begging. They avoid eye contact and, as they pass, simply shrug their shoulders. One is overheard telling the other: “So sad that the government doesn’t take care of the indigent, isn’t it?”
The disciples are in a boat, attempting to cross the Galilee. Jesus is asleep below deck. Always cautious, they hug the shore just in case a storm appears.
Sure enough, a storm does arise!
Alarmed, they awaken a terrified Jesus. He screams out: “Quick, hand me a lifejacket! We’ve got to get to shore right away! These waves will probably capsize us! Luke, make a note of this: we must never travel by boat again. It is just too dangerous!”
Wait a minute, you might be saying, that’s not how it went. And you’d be right! Jesus’s followers had to do a lot of trusting, because they were often being asked to leap. Read through the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles and the entire Old Testament. You’ll see God’s people continually in peril.
Sometimes, God tells them to do the impossible—like instructing Gideon to shrink his armed forces before going to war against a far more formidable foe.
Other times, God’s people find themselves in circumstances where they’ve no hope but for a miracle—the Egyptian army chasing the Israelite slaves to the shores of the Red Sea, for example.
God keeps putting his people in unreasonable situations. They keep finding themselves in circumstances where they have to trust God, where they can’t rely on themselves.
They’re living the adventurous life.
What about you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kirk Kirlin trains, mentors, and coaches pastors to be effective, influential leaders. He is part of the ChurchNEXT reFocusing Team, a ministry of Novo that helps congregations and their leaders demonstrate the gospel to those outside the Church (explore upcoming reFocusing trainings here). Kirk and his wife, Annie, have six adult children and live in Southern California.