You Are Secure
Safety. Security.
There is a difference between them, but if there is one thing the year 2020 taught us, it’s that we have limited control over our safety and security in this world.
My buddy hated when I used to say, “I’m invincible until the Lord is done with me!” Of course, I usually said this as I did something stupid or very risky (Is there a difference when you’re a teenage guy?). Whether it was rock climbing without ropes, careening down a hill on my bike, or climbing to the top of a pine tree to see how far I could get it to sway, he would try to get me to be more careful. Why? So that I was safe. Studies show that as a guy, my thinking wasn’t sound because my frontal lobes were not fully developed (atleast that’s my excuse)!
Although following Jesus isn’t “safe” from a worldly perspective, that doesn’t mean we take unwise risks like I did as a teen just because we are believers.
C.S. Lewis depicts this in the Chronicles of Narnia when the Beavers were going to take the children to meet Aslan. When Susan found out he was a lion, she asked, “Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver… “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
In fact, as believers in Jesus Christ, we must hold our safety loosely.
If the Lord asks you to go witness in a dangerous place, would you go? If the laws of this country are changed, will you continue to declare that Jesus is exclusively “the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Him” (John 14:6) and that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)?
Can you have a peaceful, light-hearted attitude toward your life and safety? St. Lawrence of Rome was martyred in 258 A.D. Legend says that he was burned on a large gridiron and that after he had suffered a while, he said, “I’m well done on this side. Turn me over!” While that makes for a witty comment, it’s much more likely that St. Lawrence was beheaded.
Following Jesus is not a guarantee of certain aspects of safety like physical health and well-being, financial security, or relational well-being. But having a relationship with Jesus and putting his teaching into practice is the most secure place in the universe, no matter what happens in the world around us.
Jesus said that a person who hears his words and puts them into practice has a secure foundation that will withstand the storms of life (Matthew 7:24-27).
In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at specific aspects of how we are eternally secure in Christ. As the Apostle Paul put it, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). If we put anything else in place of Christ, to die is loss. But when we are in Christ, the worst the world can throw at us cannot touch our security in Christ.
Dear Saints, consider how you are tempted to find your security in this world. What makes you feel secure? What do you turn to when life gets uncertain? What would cause you anxiety and stress if taken away?
Make the choice to run to the Lord because “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) And “Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress” (Proverbs 14:26a).
I pray that today you may know the security of being a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father through Jesus the Son.