“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Often, I am repulsed by Christian Culture. Yes, as a Minister of the Gospel and a Preacher, I'm not afraid to tell you that I am, not in the least, enamored of the culture we often cultivate around our faith in Christ. Why? Because we want to be positive and encouraging all the time. We want to play it safe all the time. And because of these attitudes we allow worldliness and even demonic entities to enter in to sacred and holy spaces. The other day, I was listening to Christian radio, and someone began declaring things that I knew to be pagan in nature (my young adult days were definitively not spent in a Christian setting), and what is more, they were being affirmed by the show's host, in the name of being positive and encouraging. Now, it is likely, for the sake of time, and to not have an argument on the air, that they were doing as they did. I can give the benefit of the doubt, but it happens more and more frequently in the Christian Culture, so this is becoming normal!
This is what we get for playing it safe! The world creeps in, and we welcome it! As I examine the Scriptures, I notice one thing: things didn't end well for those who played it safe, declaring peace (especially when the true prophets of God were saying otherwise). In His ministry, Jesus never played it safe. He offended nearly everyone, to the degree where they came to arrest or kill Him several times, eventually nailing Him to a tree because He was more concerned about the condition of the human soul in relationship to its Creator than He was for offending someone! Jesus challenged the religious culture of the day by drawing them back to the source: God's word and God's nature! He didn't play it safe, and neither should we!
We need to boldly proclaim the Gospel, not package it up in bubble wrap with a fragile sticker! The Gospel does not need our help, but God demands our obedience! So if I may encourage you (I'm positive this may already have offend some): be bold. As the Apostles were dragged before the Sanhedrin, were beaten and told not to preach, and then rejoiced, praying for boldness to speak louder, so, too, I pray for boldness for you and for me. Keep Christ and Him Crucified as the center, stay grounded in the Word, and let the Holy Spirit move in you, and watch how unsafe it becomes...but also how the goodness of God manifests itself in your life each and every day!
