This is Jack. Because he is constantly pampered and coddled and dressed in silly outfits by my daughters I think he sometimes loses his vision for manhood. However, when the mailman or some innocent neighbor walks by he lunges at the glass door and smashes against it to make loud rattling vibrations to accompany his ferocious barking. For a brief moment he is awakened to the primal fighting spirit within. I love this about him. He is a warrior at heart who has been domesticated against his will by two lovey girls. I pray that he is not killed by a life of comfort and ease.
I’ve been pondering a lot about this tendency we have toward safety and security and comfort. Some Christians have practically made these things the apparent goal of the faith. But where did that come from? It certainly didn’t come from Jesus who called his followers into a life of danger and sacrifice. The early Christians faced imprisonment, beating, crucifixion, being torn apart by lions in the arena and burning at the stake. I wonder if some might be following the wrong Jesus?
I think that inside all of us is a passion to live for something greater than ourselves. We admire the person in movies that gives his or her life for others. We want to be fully alive and fully engaged. Deep down we despise mediocrity. We crave adventure. We want our lives to count. We want to be on the front lines of the battle against evil in the universe, not sitting around watching tv or playing video games or whatever. There is a sense within, an instinct, that tells us that we were designed to live life to the fullest.
It’s this life that Jesus came into the world to unleash in every one of us. If we will let him. (I wrote this while reading The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus) - Scott A