There are many things that separate the born-again believer from those that are still lost, things we sometimes willingly let go of, others, not so much, we have a tendency to desire that which we should not. We think in terms of sin now, not the moral structures that man has set in place, structures that have been and continue to be modified over the centuries to the whim of those who set such standards, but our Lord does not change, (Malachi 3:6) He is today as He will be tomorrow, what He says is the way that His children should be, it is the standard we are to set for ourselves.
Lust, pride, envy, are a given, they are to find no resting place within us, and by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, they will slowly dissipate as the believer matures in His faith, but they are in a sense what could be called sub-sets of these, items that are also of the world that vie for our attention above what we should give them. Gossiping, strife, backbiting, the words of God are clear, and sometimes can seem overwhelming, these and others can lead us astray, and my friends, we have not even begun the conversation of drugs, alcohol, excess in all manner of vices, we are most definitely beset on every side. (2 Cor. 4:8)
The opportunities to fall are many, and fall we will, expect it, expect these times, rejoice in them (Romans 5:3) and grow in the Lord, but there are several things in the life of the servants of Christ that not only do the lost have no ability to understand, for they are beyond foolish in their minds, but sadly many of our brothers and sisters have difficulty coming to grips with. We are asked to go beyond the world, far beyond the lust of the flesh and eyes, the pride and fleshly desires, we are asked by Almighty God to give up our safety.
All fears of service to and for Him must come to an end, all relying upon ourselves must cease, we are to give no thought to our lives save for how they may be used to glorify God. We are not just to say the words, “Where He leads, I will follow,” not just give pause to the sentence “Thy will be done,” we are to give up all personal safety for the Lamb of God. This thought, these words go against our very nature, we most generally run from the battle, we avoid dangerous situations and places, those in the world that go to the battle front are called heroes by the ones that do not, in the world today though, the word “Hero” has taken on a mediocre term at best. In Hebrews 11 you will find the heroes of the faith, as it were, men whom the world was not worthy of, (Heb. 11:38) men and women we are to emulate in part, for they choose to follow no matter the cost to their own personal safety.
I would like to quote A.W. Tozer here from his book “The Crucified Life;” “If your safety is so precious that you must preserve it at all cost, you will be hindered on your journey along the crucified life pathway. Your safety is the price you pay to move on to new spiritual vistas.” In other words my friends, you have a choice, if you desire to move forward in your walk with Christ, if He alone is the desire of your life, there is much more than the simple vices we grip so tightly to that must be released, we must be willing to forgo all of our notions of what safe is, what it truly means to remain in a safe place.
The perils that await those willing to forgo this safety are not those that we will name the “Common Christian” experience, they fear the lack of popularity amongst their peers, they flee from the thought of a loss of position and stature, of their place among the crowd. Loss of family, friends, home, and worldly goods, the known security of the structure of their lives they have built around themselves. Many of them would no longer desire to traverse this path we are speaking about than they would end their lives, but that is what we are asked to do. The man of God who is willing to forgo his own personal safety for the Lord Jesus long age stopped being afraid to bring up His name in the company of others, ceased being concerned with their thoughts about him, save for how he is representing his Savior, his life is not his own, he has been crucified with Christ, nevertheless, he still lives. (Gal. 2:20)
This step of faith still seems enormous to many who call Jesus Lord, for it entails in its entirety Phil. 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” it gives us a glimpse into the end of those strong brothers and sisters in Christ we have, those who in the future “loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:11) It gives us an opportunity to become members, if you will, and if God deems it so for His glory, to sit in the hall of faith with those who have come before us, those who gave no thought to their own personal safety in this world.
There are certain verses in the Scriptures that do not apply to every believer, that are there specifically for those that our Lord has decided to call out of the sheepfold to go a little further with Him. To be a part of the fellowship of the suffering of Christ, (Phil. 3:10) to love not your life to the end, to die to self, (1 Cor. 15:31) are just some that are reserved for those who have tossed all personal safety aside, who have said in the depths of their soul, “Here I am, use me.” All of the safety of this life, all of those countless securities we rely upon are nothing more than an illusion, to desire to prolong it for even one extra minute is futile, it is the Lord God who has appointed our days, (Job 14:5) and those who will not use each moment for His glory are seeking a safety in this world that has never and will never be found. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, (Deut. 31:8) He has promised to walk through the fire with us, (Isaiah 43:2) to be with us as we travel through the valley of the shadow of death, (Psalm 23:4) our deaths are precious in His sight. (Psalm 116:15)
The safety many are seeking for here is not real, it is a deceit and lie, to know Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings is safety, to know that God Almighty reigns in all of His creation, that He is Sovereign is safety, to walk in the confidence that you are a child of the Most High, heir to the kingdom of heaven, loved beyond all measure for all eternity brings a confidence that casts all cares upon Him, (1 Peter 5:7) throws the notion of the security of all the world aside, and seeks only the glory of God in that man’s life. This is not the illusion of safety my friends, it is the only true safety there is, it is the only safety that should be real and precious to us.
