Staying Safe?

What is your first thought when the storm approaches? How many have you lived through? Do you wholeheartedly pursue adventure? People die every day as a result of “adventure”. Does that keep you locked in at home – staying safe?

“God created us for risk and adventure. Consider the challenges of marriage, parenting, running a race, dreaming and pursuing big dreams. All of these are fraught with hard work and gut wrenching risks.

In his recent book, Play the Man, Mark Batterson prods us with lessons from the life of John Muir, who had an insatiable desire to explore and engage the natural landscape of God’s creation. Who else do you know that took Teddy Roosevelt camping or influenced the preservation of many of the National Parks we enjoy. Regarding Muir, Batterson recounts his lack of timidity:

“In 1874, Muir wrote an article for Scribner’s Magazine titled ““Wind-Storm in the Forests of the Yuba.”” Muir was staying at a friend’s cabin nestled in the Sierra Nevada when a winter storm swept through the valley. Instead of seeking shelter, Muir sought adventure. Gale-force winds bent trees past their breaking point, snapping hundreds of trees in a matter of hours.

    So what did John Muir do?

    He located the tallest cluster of Douglas fir trees he could find, and then he climbed one of them to the very top. The hundred-foot tree swayed up to thirty degrees, from side to side, while Muir held on for dear life, feasting his senses on the sights, sounds, and smells of the earth, the wind, and the storm.

   ” “On such occasions, nature always has something rare to show us,”” said Muir. “And the danger to life and limb is hardly greater than one would experience crouching deprecatingly beneath a roof.”

    Most people live as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death, but not Muir. He had a passion for life that took no prisoners.”

In the book of Revelation, previewing the great wrap-up of the age, Jesus repeats his call to a life of courage and “victorious” living – not much applause for “safety” or living risk-free .

Revelation 21:7-8 AMPC

[7] He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son. [8] But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive……

Revelation 2:26 AMPC

And he who overcomes (is victorious) and who obeys My commands to the [very] end [doing the works that please Me], I will give him authority and power over the nations;