Have you heard the news that some schools are banning “high fives” and teaching kids and teachers how to wash their hands to prevent the spread of the swine flu? Doesn’t it seem strange that our fears have gone from school shootings to simple interaction among kids? While it makes sense to take precautions to avoid illness, it seems that we are developing a culture of fear.
It seems that people are trying harder than ever to insulate themselves from any kind of danger. From the frantic search for no-risk investments to the frenzy to find the flu vaccine. Our culture has become afraid of risks of any kind.
Worst of all, we find that kind of fear in the church. Many people come to church expecting it to be a safe place from the world instead of a safe place for the world. Unfortunately, our fear of the world has led the church to disconnect from the world to the point where we have even stopped interacting with world. Our fear of the dangers in the world has made us ineffective in the world. We have tried to insulate ourselves from the sin of this world, but we have also lost touch with the people of this world who need the message we have been given.
While we look up to the martyrs of our faith, from Bible times to today, we fear persecution that, in this country, will not likely lead to our own deaths. It is ironic and sad that Christians have taken the name of Jesus, the one who died to save us, but we are afraid to death of sharing his message with the world that is dying to hear it.
Our faith is dangerous, but it is also powerful. We can’t forget that God took a huge risk entrusting his plan of salvation to the church. We can’t forget our mission because of the danger of living in this world. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Let’s take our simple message of God’s love and forgiveness and be dangerous in the world.