I was struck today while reading Tribulation Force on my lunch hour by one line in particular. It brought to mind an issue I've dealt with before, but that seems to pop up again and again: what it means to be wholly devoted, a living sacrifice, to Christ. The line in question describes Rayford while he prays:
"And anyone who thought the sophisticated airline pilot had taken leave of his senses would have been right."
It got me thinking. As Christians, we often give lip service to "following the Spirit's leading", etc. We read about it in our Bibles, we pray aloud for it to happen, we sing about doing it... but how many of us are actually doing it on a day-to-day basis? How many times are we actually willing to be thought of as fools and idiots and dreamers? How many times are we willing to go on a leave of absence from our senses, stop trying to reason things out, and just DO what the Spirit is trying to tell us to do, no matter how insane it sounds? How crazy it makes us look? How foolish we feel?
Like Paul, in the Bible. I don't recall it ever being mentioned, but you KNOW that when he wanted to go back to a city where they tried to stone him to death, someone-- maybe lots of someones-- had to be saying, "No way man! Don't go! It's too dangerous! Are you nuts? If you go back there, they're just going to try to kill you again! And this time they might succeed!" But he went anyways. And there was probably more than one person who thought that he'd completely lost his mind. Gone off the deep end.
But THAT's what we're called to. Not to a life of church and youth group and "right" actions. Not to a life of safety and plodding along along the path of Church-ianity.
So my prayer today is that God would help me to once again step out of my comfort zone, throw away my safety net, take leave of my senses, and follow Him. Down any road, at any cost.
What's yours?
"And anyone who thought the sophisticated airline pilot had taken leave of his senses would have been right."
It got me thinking. As Christians, we often give lip service to "following the Spirit's leading", etc. We read about it in our Bibles, we pray aloud for it to happen, we sing about doing it... but how many of us are actually doing it on a day-to-day basis? How many times are we actually willing to be thought of as fools and idiots and dreamers? How many times are we willing to go on a leave of absence from our senses, stop trying to reason things out, and just DO what the Spirit is trying to tell us to do, no matter how insane it sounds? How crazy it makes us look? How foolish we feel?
Like Paul, in the Bible. I don't recall it ever being mentioned, but you KNOW that when he wanted to go back to a city where they tried to stone him to death, someone-- maybe lots of someones-- had to be saying, "No way man! Don't go! It's too dangerous! Are you nuts? If you go back there, they're just going to try to kill you again! And this time they might succeed!" But he went anyways. And there was probably more than one person who thought that he'd completely lost his mind. Gone off the deep end.
But THAT's what we're called to. Not to a life of church and youth group and "right" actions. Not to a life of safety and plodding along along the path of Church-ianity.
So my prayer today is that God would help me to once again step out of my comfort zone, throw away my safety net, take leave of my senses, and follow Him. Down any road, at any cost.
What's yours?
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