“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:7-15 ESV

Wake up, get ready, go to my job, do my work, eat lunch, work some more, go home, rest up for tomorrow, press onward toward Friday afternoon, enjoy the weekend and hold off Monday.

That’s the pattern that so many of us run with every week. We see these opportunities so just get by, do what must be done and enjoy ourselves in the mean time. And as much as we would claim to be bored by that pattern and talk about breaking out of it, we are creatures of habit and changing things up worries us, it worries us enough that we will stick with the mediocrity of the known to avoid the unknown even though it could be so much better. That’s what keeps most of us from taking bold steps in life. Whether it’s going for a promotion at work or reaching out to someone for Christ, if there’s risk and an unknown, we tend to avoid it, even if we have talked a good game before.

But when we are reminded of men like Paul, Silas, Barnabas, Peter, Timothy and all the other apostles and church fathers, and we see them laying quite literally everything on the line for Christ, it should be our encouragement to live a little and quit trying to be so ‘safe.’ Sticking in our pattern of the ‘known’ keeps us from living as Christ and following in His footsteps. Our strength doesn’t maintain us, it slowly kills us and renders us inept for service and spiritually dead.

Trusting in God to leave behind the comfortable, to walk away from ‘safe’ in order to honor God with our lives in loving, thankful obedience, is yet another confirmation that we understand that this life is not about this life, but all about the next. We are not building for today, but toward eternity. We don’t work for our own goals, but for the Kingdom of heaven. Not for the things of today and this world, but for the things of God.

This means we leave our false ideas of ‘safety’ behind, knowing that ‘safety’ has a choke hold on our faith. Living in apathy, being quiet, trying not to rock the boat too much…this is not the life Christ has for us. Mediocrity and the Kingdom of God do not walk hand-in-hand.

So, be bold. Quit trying to be ‘safe’ all the time and GoLove someone for the sake of Christ. Walk as Jesus walked, knowing this world is temporary and that what we work toward cannot be achieved by being ‘safe.’ The cross was not ‘safe’ for Christ, and we have been called to take ours up daily.

So, go.