Life, Liberty and the Obsession with Safety?

 When did the American dream turn into an obsession with safety? It seems like everyday something else is being reported on the news as too dangerous, or a new law being passed for “public safety.” Sometimes those things are good, but now days it seems like safety is the most popular idol to fall down and worship upon.

When I was a kid I would ride my bike without a helmet, knee pads or elbow pads. When I asked to go play outside, I had to stay within the range of mom’s whistle, which was way beyond her site. Let me tell you, mom can WHISTLE! I could be almost two blocks away and still hear it!

I remember getting into the family car and not wearing a seatbelt, or getting into a child’s seat. Sometimes I would start up front, in between mom and dad, then get bored, climb over the seat, step between my siblings who were probably fighting in the back seat, and stretch out on the back dashboard of our car. It was a great place to watch the stars shine bright on long road trips!

Now, if these things were to happen today, my parents would probably be arrested for child endangerment or neglect. However, I never felt neglected or unloved. I felt free and alive. I knew my parents would be there for me when I needed them. Sure there were definite risks, but what I describe was the common experience 25 years ago.

Today there are laws and regulations about how long children have to be in a car seat, wearing seat belts (one of my first cars didn’t even have seatbelts), they have even taken marry-go-rounds out of the local parks. There are chewed up tire pieces glued into rubber asphalt for playgrounds today.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t use common sense or be responsible in our choices when it comes to safety. Certainly I could tell stories of how the lack of safety equipment in the past led to injuries and deaths that are avoided today. However, I think it is good to ask if our obsession is robbing us of real life.

In our faith, I think we have built similar safety mechanisms to prevent us from fully experiencing God’s best. We think God has called us to the safe and comfortable life, when in reality He has called us to so much more!

Abram was minding his own business in Ur when God called him to leave everything he knew based on a promise (Genesis 12). Stephen preached the Gospel and received a stoning for his obedience (Acts 7). Hebrews 11, known as the “Hall of Faith,” recounts many who faced extreme opposition because of their faith.

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy…” (Hebrews 11:35-38)

Did Jesus declared in John 10:10 that “The thief has come to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come to grant you a comfortable and safe life.” NO! He said He came to give us “Life to the full!” Our life would be found in freedom from sins and peace with God! He never said we wouldn’t face trouble, He actually promised it would come. However, He promised to be with us, rooting for us and praying for us.

When we look at the present work of Jesus Christ, what He is doing today, we learn that what He is doing today can give us the greatest confidence in this life as we look to eternity.

Jesus is our Great High Priest and is seated at the right hand of the Father! Yep, that clears it all up…now go take risks! Haha, I know we have some unpacking to do. Yet in that sentence is a lot we can hold on to.

Jesus provided for us what we could not provide for ourselves (Hebrews 2:17; 9:14)

A priest, in the OT, was one who would offer sacrifice unto God on behalf of the people. He would take the blood from the bulls and present it as a sin offering before God in the Holy of Holies once a year. Because he too was a sinner, this atoning sacrifice would have to be repeated time and again.

Jesus is our Great High Priest who offered Himself as our perfect sacrifice, becoming the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means a once and done sacrifice that completely satisfies the wrath of God, never needing to be repeated.

Knowing this about Jesus should help us see that we have nothing to prove to God, we cannot earn God’s favor, but it has been freely given to us because of Jesus! This is awesome news! It should free us from our insecurities in life and allow us to be free in our expression of worship.

Jesus has our back (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

As our High Priest, Jesus goes to God on our behalf! He’s kind of like our defense attorney in God’s courtroom. When the enemy brings a charge against us, Jesus defends us!

Plus, there is no longer a need for a Temple because the sacrifice Jesus made, tore the veil that excluded us from the holiest place, from top to bottom. We now have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ our High Priest (Hebrews 10:19-20).

We can now draw near to into the very presence of the Father without fear, but have confidence because of Jesus.

Jesus knows us and prays for us (John 17:14-17)

Jesus doesn’t pray for our safety, or our comfort, but He does pray that the Father will protect us from the evil one. He warns us that we will have difficulties but He prays our faith will remain strong. And He longs for us to be with Him when our time here is done.

He goes to the Father with specific prayers for us. He knows you by name and prays for your specific needs (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34). Knowing that our High Priest knows us and prays for us should give confidence to live victoriously.

When we begin to understand that Jesus is constantly going to bat for us in the “supreme court of heaven,” we should desire to live our lives in such a way that brings glory and honor to Him. A “safe Christian” life does not bring honor to Jesus. Living on the frontlines, challenging people to live out loud for Jesus and sharing Christ with unbelievers is how we draw people to Him.

Jesus is awesome and knowing what He is doing for us today should give us courage to live a life that brings glory to His name. How have you been holding back in your faith? How does knowing Jesus is your High Priest going to help you overcome your fears and take a risk today?

Re-Create Me

 

“HELP!” Let that sit for just a moment….

“H-E-L-P!!!”

Seemingly such a small word, yet it carry’s the weight of the world within the four letters. It’s a word that we use when we have no other words to say. It’s a word that sums up all the unknowns in our minds and our hearts. Sometimes we can verbalize only this word, yet words fail to describe the deep emotional hurts that provoke this cry.

We have all found ourselves in a place needing help. From the time when we were children and needed help to tie our shoes, to the time our car breaks down, or our first accident. Each carries emotional baggage with it, one we can shrug off as soon as the solution has been found, but others there seems to be no solution in sight.

“HELP!”

“My parents just told me they are getting a divorce!” “I just found out I’m pregnant…my parents are going to kill me!” “My boyfriend is cheating on me!” “My uncle raped me!” “I’m so alone, nobody understands me!” The emotions from these events are so deep that sometimes there is no words to describe, no understanding to be had and few seem to be able to help with them.

I’ve been looking into some responses this week and one stands out to me. There is an escape some teens have chosen that provides for them a release from the overwhelming emotional pain, but drives them further and further from the help they need. Self-Injury, or more commonly known as “cutting,” is becoming a more and more common expression of pain. You may not be aware of this phenomenon, or you may only be exposed to it from movies or media. Yet 1 in 8 teens are turning to this form of escape.

Self-injury is when someone inflicts pain on themselves to mask emotional pain that is bigger then they can handle. As the athlete who burns off steam by hitting a punching bag, a self-injurer uses their body as a punching bag. Some hit themselves to the point of bruising. Others burn themselves. And still others cut themselves. When life is out of control, they feel they can sneak off to isolation and control this one thing. The momentary pain makes them feel alive and removes the bigger problems temporarily.

A cutter may not be able to tell you why, or what’s going on. It is their reality and they want help, but are afraid to tell you about it. They want someone to love them, to hug them and tell them it’s going to be okay. Yet when they tell a parent or a friend, most freak out on them. Most people act like they are crazy and a freak. No wonder they don’t tell us.

As I watched YouTube videos of testimonies from teens that injure themselves, read journal entries and saw pictures, my heart broke for these kids. I found myself wishing I could pull each one close and give them a big B-Rad bear hug and tell them there is hope! There is hope in the person of Jesus Christ!

We are studying Jesus Christ: the same Yesterday, Today and Forever. If I truly believe Jesus is who He says He is, and will do what He promises to do, then I must believe that what I teach about Him will reach into that dark place a student is at when they cut themselves for an escape. What a great joy it will be when they see that Jesus is the answer to life’s toughest problems.

Jesus as the eternal Son of God, always existed as the second person of the Trinity. He never had a beginning and He has no end! Nothing catches Him by surprise and we are never beyond His reach. Yet the world we live in is broken and our understanding of who He is has been tainted with sin, therefore we are separated from Him and our understanding is darkened. We need a course correction to see Him clearly. Thankfully He has given us His Word to reveal to us what we need to know to be rescued.

Jesus is the Creator of the Universe (Colossians 1:15-16).

You might be thinking that there are million other places to start with when thinking about a teen struggling with self-injury then with creation, however I think this is a very essential understanding for us all. Before Jesus came to earth in the incarnation, He was very active in the past, specifically with the creation of the universe and everything in it.

Jesus is seen here in Colossians as the one who created all things. In Genesis 1-2 we see that Jesus, God, created the earth in six literal days. This has become a controversial topic in today’s society. More and more Christians are trying to find ways to accept evolution as legitimate science and excuse the creation account in the Bible as a myth. What does the teaching of evolution say to the teen who is curled up in the last stall in the restroom at school about to cut herself for the 50^th time? Evolution says you are an accident, you aren’t supposed to be here, you are worthless, survival of the fittest, etc.

Jesus created the world with purpose and with meaning. All things were created by Him and for Him. Everything is here for a reason and that reason is to bring glory to God. Jesus as Creator tells this young girl that there is a bigger purpose and meaning to life. That Jesus both began something and holds it together. That He is real and working and there is hope because He is listening!

Evolution has crept its way into all parts of our educational system, marketed as real science and those who believe the Bible are fools. Yet Evolution is not real science, it is a faith claim. It actually takes more faith to believe in evolution then it does to believe that an all-powerful, all-loving God spoke the world into existence.

Evolution has no answer to origins, where we came from. Sure it says that the Big Bang happened and that from some primordial soup a simple celled orgasm sprang forth and evolved into a fish, a monkey and then into a man over billions of years. Sounds pretty believable right?

Except evolution is a theory and not a law. It has not been proven to be real science and it contradicts established laws of science, i.e., the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics to name one (that things go from order to disorder…you know they breakdown, the law of entropy).

Creation says that God, Jesus Christ, always existed and He created the universe and the world with a specific purpose. With such specific details and intentions when we look at nature we are compelled to believe in a God (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:19-20).

Jesus not only created the universe, but He created you (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 139:13-16).

Jesus not only created the universe and the earth with meaning, with a purpose, but He specifically created human kind for a relationship with Him. Man is the only creature that He created in the beginning with His own hands. Genesis tells us how He scooped up the dust of the earth and formed man in His image. Humanity was God’s masterpiece, the apex of His creation and He gave us His image, His likeness and His breath!

Do you see how this brings value to life? When someone is so overwhelmed with life, feeling alone and worthless that they only want to feel something so they cut themselves, if they only knew that Jesus made them to be in a relationship with Him.

The Psalmists uses the language of intimate involvement in the unique creation of each and every one of us, being knit together in the womb. You were no accident to Jesus, at conception He was working the cells to grow together, to form into a new body! You are precious to Jesus because His fingerprints are all over the creation of your body! He doesn’t want you to harm your body, but to know that He loves you and beckons to you to know who He is!

Jesus created the universe, He created you and He made provision to reconcile creation (Colossians 1:20-22).

Jesus created the universe and us to bring glory to Him, however we all look around and see the brokenness around us. Can disease, loneliness, pain really bring glory to God? If things are the way God intended, then why does self-injury exist?

The truth is that sin has disrupted the way things God intended them to be. When Adam and Eve first rebelled against God in the Garden, sin came into the world and death, pain and disease followed (Romans 5). Things are broken. Hurt is real. Yet God heard our cries for help!

Just over 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to reconcile us to God. He knew that there was nothing we could do to work off our sins, to pay for the wrong things that we have done. There is no pain we can inflict on ourselves to overcome our guilt. We cannot repay the debt that we owe. Yet Jesus came to pay it for us when He shed His blood on the cross so that we don’t have to. His resurrection shows us that the check cleared, that He is alive and offers us life!

His self-sacrifice brings hope and peace to those who trust in Him. He claims to re-create us based on our faith (2 Corinthians 5:17).  That is His offer to you, right now! If you are overwhelmed with life and find yourself crying out for “help,” know that Jesus came to help you! He wants to re-create you into His child, He wants to be with you, and He wants you to have hope for the future.

If you are just getting by one day at time, and you find yourself escaping to some form of self-injury, or you run to alcohol, drugs, sex, relationships, etc. anything to mask the pain. Know that Jesus promises to give you abundant life (John 10:10) when you trust in Him. No, the problems don’t just disappear, but He brings meaning and purpose to our troubles. He is with us in the dark valleys and He hold our hands through the tough times. He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Will you trust Christ today?

Maybe you are a Christian and you don’t struggle with issues like this. I want to ask you to walk through life with your eyes open to the hurting and pain around you. There are people created in God’s image all around who struggle with cutting and pain who need hope. Don’t freak out when someone tells you they need help and are hurting. Embrace them and lead them to the cross!

Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, came to re-create you!