Are you living the safe life or the safe life?

Day2: Safe

This morning I am on my way to church with red lips and gray fingernails. I know This is trendy now so you are probably thinking big deal but it is also significant for my life in the fact that these are bold fashion statements that cause one to stand out. I’m not typically one to stand out. Also, significant because I am the youth pastors wife at a traditional conservative Baptist church, but that’s another story for another day.

If ever there was a girl who lived safely her name is Lindsey. I have never been much for risk taking or pushing the envelope. In fact I was always the good kid, obedient, never asking too many questions or pushing too far. Give me a box of rules any day and I will gladly stand in it and thrive, never trying to escape or push the box to expand.

Now I’m not saying being a rule follower is a bad thing but when your life is defined by living safely out of a fear of the risk then I would say something is missing. Hence the question, do you live the safe life or the safe life?

Safe life 1: one marked by fear thus causing an individual to live within culturally constructed boxes.

Safe life 2: one who is marked by Christ and has the safety of His power as they live a risky life for the advancement of the kingdom

I am 25 years old and I have spent most of my life living safe life number 1. I am not necessarily saying this is a bad thing however living this safe life feels somewhat like living life for those around you. You make choices based on the opinions and thoughts of those around you and the questions in your head are typically “what are they thinking?” and “Am I pleasing them?” Take it from a girl who has been doing it for a while, trying to please all of those around you is a hard way to live. I am learning this more and more in my current job where I serve a large number of people and find it is impossible to please them all at once.

So when we flip safety on its head, we begin living safe life number 2. Safe life number 2 is marked by risk. Ironic I know. Safe life number 2 is all about asking the questions “How can I please Him?” and “What is He thinking right now?” This life is full of risk because it commands you to take up a cross, die to self, and start living for something bigger and better than you. There is nothing safe about this life you say? The safety comes in who is leading you in this life. This life is linked to the savior of the world and to the one and only God. He is all powerful and all-knowing and when He has your back there is nothing to fear, thus there is safety! Safety in the risk. This is the paradox of the Christian life.

Read my red lips and hear me say I am not there yet. The spirit is pushing and molding these days to push me out of my comfort and into the safety of risk taking for Him. I’m not there yet but I am wondering if you will journey with me there. Let’s be a generation that takes risk for the advancement of God’s kingdom and the good of those around us whom we love. With our gray fingernails and bright red lips let’s get out of our boxes and start living as one redeemed from the pit and set apart for a purpose.