I propose that the greatest loss in the average Christian’s life is the absence of the adventure that following Jesus naturally entails.
Where has the adventure gone?
Have we become so enamored, as a society, with comfort, safety, and predictability that we have lost the ability to live life fully the way God intended?
- I eat at McDonald’s (sometimes) because I know exactly what I will get regardless of where in the world I am. It’s predictable.
- I follow many set routines largely out of a sense of comfort.
- I expect the garbage man, the landscaper, the shop next door, the dry cleaner all to run on a consistent schedule so that my day runs as expected.
And, doesn’t this spill over into our spiritual life as well? Our religious and church-gathering habits are often defined by what is most comfortable. Even if we are forced out of one setting by pain or ideology, we quickly create a new setting that ‘meets our needs’ and that has some predictability to it.
I’m not suggesting that we throw out all schedules and routines as the answer, but I’m challenging us to re-think what it means to follow Jesus fully.
The fact that we define our spiritual life by our gatherings—who we gather with, where we gather, and when we gather—rather than by our ‘going’ indicates that we may be substituting comfort for the excitement of Jesus-following living.
We teach ‘grace’ which is the foundational element of Gospel freedom, but somehow that message leads many to a freedom to live in comfort zones rather than the freedom to live a radical adventure. This creates a great loss in the lives of many! In fact, I would say that if people don’t learn the art of adventuring with Jesus, they will find themselves falling back into some form of legalism or religious-comfort as a substitute.
John Eldredge said, “Eternal life is not primarily duration but quality of life, ‘life to the limit.’” Are we leaning into that eternal life now or just making do with a limited existence, spiritually and otherwise, content with getting by?
Perhaps the enemy’s greatest victory is that God’s people are robbed of the faith and courage to live ‘life to the limit’ as radical followers.
