How Brave are You?

After a week off from blogging, I’m back!

I preached a sermon on Sunday that I am still thinking about because God’s Word convicted me and confronted me with this question: If I truly believe in the resurrection, then why am I not taking more risks for the sake of God’s Kingdom?

The thesis of the sermon was this: Since Jesus Christ has opened up a brave new world through his resurrection, we can be brave in this world.

As Chris Altrock points out in his book Newsworthy, “There is nothing that can be broken that cannot be rebuilt by the resurrection.  There is nothing that can be robbed that cannot be regained in the resurrection.  There is nothing that can be ruined that cannot be restored in the resurrection.  There is nothing that can be done to you that cannot be undone by the resurrection.  There is nothing that can be mangled that cannot be mended by the resurrection.  The good news is that anything hurt when we risk for a noble cause is healed in the resurrection.”

But I wonder, at times, if we really believe this.

Do we have such confidence in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which secures our own resurrection from the dead, that we are willing to take risks to tell others about Jesus?  Does the news about our future resurrection fill us with courage here and now to risk being rejected by those who don’t want to hear about Jesus?  To risk being ridiculed by popular culture for following Jesus?  To risk being out of step with our PC culture by staying true to Christ’s teachings on moral values and sexual ethics?  To risk our comfort in order to show compassion?  To risk our status in order to proclaim Jesus as Savior?

If we truly believe that in the ultimate resurrection God will set all things right and restore and renew all things, then where’s the risk in inviting your neighbor to church?  Where’s the risk in sharing your faith with a co-worker?  Where’s the risk in living life by Christ’s standards?

If we, the church, want to be effective at sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world, then we must learn to see the resurrection as a truth that applies to our daily walk with Christ and not just our future life with Christ.

Since Jesus Christ has opened up a brave new world through his resurrection, we can brave in this world.

So, how brave are you?