Kingdom Living = Risky Living

On Friday, September 10, 2010, Ceaser got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. We were packing up after a morning picnic at the garden venue where he had asked me to be his girlfriend a year, eight months and five days before. Our courtship was littered with morning picnic dates and deep car ride conversations. That day wasn’t any different. He took me to a nice dinner that evening after I spent the afternoon reading a book in his car as he gave his usual Friday drum lessons to an enthusiastic teenage boy he had been teaching for a while. A friend asked why he hadn’t waited until we were all dressed up for a fancy dinner to pop the question but they didn’t know what mid-morning picnics had grown to mean to us. The funny thing is, we haven’t been on a picnic since that day. That beautiful garden venue has since been demolished with new construction underway, the new owners unaware of the history that the ground holds.

I sat in the passenger’s seat, its door open as I reached to the back to grab a bottle of water from the cooler box. As I turned to straighten in my seat, ready to go, there he was, down on one knee, with a box in his hand. “Louise, I love you more than I can say. Will you marry me?” There were no photographers or witnesses, which is just as well because your girl didn’t look photo-ready at that moment. There were no candles or rose petals, no music or violin player in the bushes. There was just us. His gentle brown eyes and the hope we both held in our hearts that God was going to do a whole lot with that little… “Yes.”

Saying yes to Ceaser that day was one of the easiest yeses I’ve ever had to give. It was safe and peaceful. It brought out the best in me and made me bold in a way I’d never been before. Sometimes life gives us those kinds of yes moments, ones that feel right in every sense of the word. I wish that was how life was every day, with every decision and at every level, but it’s not. I didn’t know it then, but that yes, though easy, was one of the riskiest I have ever had to utter. I was agreeing to join my life, my hopes, dreams, aspirations and prospects to this man. We’ve jocked a lot lately about how either one of us could have been flat-out crazy! We have been crazy in our own right and becoming one flesh has had its interesting twists and turns but that risk was well worth it. If given the chance to do it all over, I would, a thousand times over. The life we’ve built is beautifully imperfect and radically simple. Just like that proposal was many years ago, it is filled with the nuances of who we each are and who we have become because we are together. Many don’t fully understand our love because no one could, from the outside looking in, but the One who has been in it with us from it’s Genesis has proven His mercy and His grace too many times to count.

As I reflect on the woman I was then and who I am now, I’m grateful. I had no idea what was on the other side of that risky yes. Back then, I was content to just be in love and to be loved by someone who loved God. Yet our union was forged by so much more than that and continues to grow because of the everyday yeses are we committed to giving God and each other. God is indeed merciful, kind and intentional if only we can give Him our yes, and allow Him to direct our steps.

As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honour your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this, the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. ~ Mark 10:17-22 (NLT)

The kingdom message that Jesus brought was foreign and uncomfortable. It sounded ludicrous to the people of His day and it’s just as ridiculous to us today. It’s an upside-down way, God’s way of seeing the world. As His children, His guidance for our lives will seem out of sorts, foreign, uncomfortable and risky. Will you miss His will for your life because you’re afraid to take the necessary risks? Living a life that extends the kingdom of God here on earth requires just that, taking the necessary risks He asks of us.

The story of the rich young ruler in Mark has always intrigued me. The homeboy ran to Jesus and sought out the conversation. It’s not like he was randomly singled out and put on the spot to answer questions he wasn’t prepared to answer. No, he went after that thing all by himself (or all by ‘his-own-self,’ as Ceaser and I would say). Have you ever thought you were ready to give, or were already giving, God your everything, only for Him to reveal that you weren’t? I believe this is something we all encounter at different stages of our lives because the person God has called you to be will always require more. There is always more in us than we know there is, and it pleases God to draw that out. Yet wanting more and doing the things that will get us more are two very different things. This rich young ruler wanted more but he was not ready to give God the hard yes it would take to get to more. He thought he was, but Jesus looked at him and saw beyond the façade he was presenting to the world.

Has it ever occurred to you no one has ever seen their entire self? In a mirror, you see your image but without a mirror, you’ve only ever seen parts of yourself based on the angle your eyes can see. It takes God and others to help us see ourselves. When God asks us to do risky things, He uses that to show us parts of ourselves we can’t see without His help. Allow me to share a few thoughts about God-risks that can put your heart at ease when your day of ‘more’ comes.

God-risks push boundaries

We all have something we’re unwilling to do, some lines we’re unwilling to cross. We may never say it out loud but we’ve thought it several times. Abraham demonstrates what we’re to do with such lines before our Lord and God in how he handled God’s request to sacrifice his only legitimate son. He crossed over that line by giving God a boundless yes. A boundless yes is a very difficult yes and God is not unaware of this when He asks it of us. For this reason, there’s always a great blessing on the other side of giving God our boundless yes. When God wants to take us to the next level of His plan for our lives, He will often ask us to do something that pushes against the boundaries around our yes. The gracious thing about it is that those moves are only risky from the outside looking in. Once we’ve sought God for boldness and confirmation of the risk He is asking us to take, all it takes is for us to step into it in faith before we realise it wasn’t all that risky to begin with. Those still standing on the outside may never get it, but you, being surrounded by His peace, understand that He is the one assuming all the risk. Still, having to take that leap of faith is tough and I pray that for every God-risk you take, His ‘more’ would abound on the other side of your obedience.

God-risks bring multiplication

Our relationship with God is a give-and-take one. We rarely recognise it as such, yet if you’ve walked long enough with Him, you see this pattern. It’s never equally balanced because God is God and we’re not, but it is give-and-take. What we give, especially in sacrifice, shows God the value we place on our relationship with Him and how highly we esteem Him. We’re always ready to ask God to do things for us, come through for us, and provide for us, yet when He asks us to do something for Him, we’re quick to hesitate, complain and withhold. If we can sacrifice in our human relationships, giving and doing what we’re not thrilled about because we value the relationship, how much more should we be ready to do this for God? Can He trust you with having His back? Can He trust You to care about what concerns Him? Can He trust you to speak up for what He values? Can He trust you? That heart posture, to do whatever God asks of you, is all He needs to activate His multiplying power in your life. Just like He did for Abraham, He wants to do for you if only you would offer Him your boundless yes.

God-risks demand surrender

Our willingness to put aside our preferences for the advancement of God’s kingdom requires surrender. Like I always say, living a life that honours God is not for the faint-hearted. If you mean this thing with all your heart it will push you, challenge you and place demands on you that seem outrageous. They seem outrageous because they are! His ways are outrageous to our preferred way of living, yet when we surrender, He promises to elevate and bless us. While others compromise or use their own strength to get to the top, God is calling us to surrender our way to His absolute best for us. In His kingdom, you don’t have to be the smartest, richest, best looking or most talented person to experience His best for your life. All you have to do is practice surrender and obedience. Make this your way of life and see how God shows out and shows off in your life. It will be hard and you will face pushback, but remember this: anytime the kingdom of God advances, darkness is eliminated. The challenges we face, as we go, are simply the enemy throwing a tantrum as his territory shrinks. 

Are you willing to do whatever God asks of you even when it’s difficult and uncomfortable? Our loyalty and obedience to God will always be tested. The pressure we experience during such tests proves our heart to God. God doesn’t listen to what we say alone, He watches what we do and bases His trust on those proven things. My prayer for you today is that you will prove yourself faithful even when His instructions seem risky and ludicrous. That the peace of God would come upon you, fortifying you with boldness to go forward with the things that may not make sense to your head but have started a fire in your heart.