Being Safe | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Being Safe | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ken Grant
04/22/20
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In the current social and political climate, we are faced with the nearly impossible choice of quality of life as against feeling safe and secure. While this is not a new challenge, it is currently at the center of our consciousness as we discuss how to live in a way that reflects our deepest desires while also maintaining our health and safety. The idea that lies at the core of this discussion is that of risk. Every action we take carries with it some degree of risk even if it is extremely small. Some actions are obviously extremely risky, while many are so safe that it is nearly impossible to think that they carry any danger whatsoever. Finding the appropriate balance is one of the greatest challenges for a community as well as an individual.

This concept gets extremely personal when considering a parent with a child. As parents, we do everything possible to keep our children from danger. Unfortunately, this good desire can become harmful when taken to an unhealthy level. Every parent must face that day when he or she must set a child free into the big bad world and expose that child to being hurt or worse. The temptation to keep a child from going through this process, while it may seem loving, actually prevents that child from developing the skills and abilities that will enable him or her to be a whole human being capable of exercising all the talents placed within by a loving God. Children must be exposed to challenges in order to become all that they can be.

This concept is taken to an even deeper level when we relate it to our relationship with our heavenly Father. God chose to reveal himself as a Father and calls us who believe in Him His children. Jesus spoke of God as a good Father and that as a result we can ask Him for what we desire and that He will give us good things in response. This prayer is at the heart of the relationship that we have with God and it is designed to give us confidence that our Father cares for us and is watching over us. This should provide us with a sense of peace and rest no matter what we go through and it should enable us to be a witness to those around us who do not have such a relationship with the heavenly Father.

Our heavenly Father wants what is best for us in this life and we can only do that as we struggle through the challenges of life, taking appropriate risks as led by His Holy Spirit, and becoming the kind of people who can help others to overcome those same challenges. While the desire to avoid pain and conflict may feel safe, it is actually just the opposite. Jesus, Paul, and so many other Biblical examples had to endure great difficulty, but it was for the purpose of being all that God made them to be and so that they could be an example for those who came after them. True safety as a child of God comes not from shrinking from danger, but from walking through it with God at our side and trusting that He will enable to overcome until He calls us home to be with Him eternally.

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