Mike and Nicole Bobby- 2016
“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
In the beloved children’s tale, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe written by C.S. Lewis, Mr. Beaver spoke these powerful words about Aslan. Today, during Easter season, I cannot think of a better quote that captures the nature of life with our Savior. Life with Jesus isn’t safe. In John 16:33, Jesus tells his disciples, “In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
When we surrender our entire life and our whole heart over to God, it is evident in the way we speak and the way we act. It is evident in the movies we watch and the music we listen to. If we have wholly given ourselves to God, it permeates every area of our existence. It sets us apart. In being set apart, we will face persecution. We will have to endure the treatment of the world.
Jesus warns his disciples in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world.” In our life with Jesus, we will face trouble, persecution, and the possibility of losing our very life.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew this well. They refused to worship the false idol set up before them. In facing sure death, they replied to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). God is able to save us from any situation.
But, even if He doesn’t, He is still good. Jesus never said life with him would be safe. On the contrary, he told us, before choosing to embark on life with him, that there will be trouble. Jesus urged his people to consider the cost of discipleship before they left everything behind to follow him (Luke 14:25-34). Yet, when we truly realize the glory of Christ and the beautiful relationship he’s chosen to offer to us, everything we are leaving behind pales in comparison. When we recognize that sinful, undeserving people such as us have been chosen to be the sons and daughters of God, anything we have to endure afterwards is possible with Christ and more than worth the cost.
So, life with Jesus is by no means safe. But, it is good. It is so good.