Not Safe

Last week I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.  They were discussing the part where a character is about to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Jesus in the book.  When talking about Aslan, one of the characters responds, “Who said anything about being safe?  Of course he isn’t safe.  But he’s good.”  A few days later, this same exact line came up in my Bible study.  Coincidence or not, over the last few days, this line has kept coming back to me.  Jesus isn’t safe.  But he’s good.

In this context, “safe” is not referred to as the opposite of harm.  Because of course, Jesus never does anything to hurt us.  In this context, “not safe” means uncomfortable, out of our control, challenging, unpredictable, adventurous, and the list goes on.  Jesus is all of these things.  When we choose to live for Christ and give Him everything we have, we are not promised a life of safety and comfort.  We are asked to give up certain activities, make changes in our lifestyles, offer up pain and suffering, and ultimately surrender our lives to Him.  This is hard. And scary.  And it’s a life-long process.  But it is so good.  Every time we take a small step in the right direction, we can see Christ’s goodness and He reveals to us how He alone satisfies.  The path will not always be smooth and easy though.

We will be called to do things we might not want to do or things that we are hesitant about and things that are outside of our comfort zones.  We will be asked to do things we would have never thought of on our own.  These things, big and small, that we are asked to do reveal God’s goodness and draw us closer to Him.  They also help us strive for holiness.  Have you ever experienced God putting something on your heart but all you wanted to do was ignore it, brush it away, or pretend that it wasn’t there?  Or maybe you’ve experienced God calling you to do something but have feared what would happen if you said “yes.”  

God calls all of us to serve Him in different ways each and every day.  Maybe he’s calling you to share your faith with students by volunteering as a religion teacher.  Maybe you’re being asked to give a talk at a retreat.  You might be called to go on a mission trip or volunteer with a charitable organization.  You could be called to serve as a missionary, start a different career, or to talk to that new person you see at mass.  A few months ago, I was talking to a friend and she said something really profound.  “The scariest words we can pray are ‘Jesus, make your desires my desires and your will my will.’  But this prayer is the greatest and best thing we could pray.”  Following Jesus into the unknown can be scary.  Once we take those steps, we will find joy and fulfillment we can’t find anywhere else and see that He is good.
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It would be so much easier to stay sitting on our couches with a blanket, some ice cream, and a good movie (There is nothing wrong with enjoying these good things).  But we are being called to get out there and serve Him and follow Him with everything we have.  We will have to walk through deep and sometimes treacherous waters.  It won’t be safe.  But it will be good because Christ is with us and He is so good.