Playing it Safe

If we always hold back and try to play it safe, then maybe we aren’t really living. Many cautionary voices clamor for our attention from far and near. “Be careful for that curve up ahead. Don’t eat this. Get more rest. Take your vitamins. Watch out for that guy over there.” I understand the need to be safe because here we only get one life. If we aren’t careful we can quickly waste a lot of time and resources that can never be retrieved. But at some point we have to ask, is my main objective to thrive or is it to simply survive? Is it possible to do both?

Jesus said if we try to save our lives we’ll lose them, but if we “throw them away” for the sake of others and His kingdom, they will be mysteriously preserved (Matthew 16:25).

As followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we be a little more “careless” about our survival and a lot more daring about discovering what God wants us to do and be?

Mary Anne Radmacher said:

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”

As a Jesus follower, I cannot accept Radmacher’s last directive because I know better. I know there’s more to life than what I can see and touch. But I can still live a life of abandonment. With my eye singly focused on Jesus, I can dance like no one else is watching; live like tomorrow doesn’t matter–because it doesn’t if I’m in His care. I can fully abandon myself to God’s schemes and dreams.

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