Security and Adventure

I was talking to some friends the other day on a conference call, and one of the concepts that came up was the idea of adventure and security. As we talked, we thought that they were opposite - that security was the choice of the safe at heart who don't want things rattled in their world, and that adventure was the choice of the other half of humanity, the ones liking the unpredictable. I realized that I definitely fall into the second category.

One of the folks on the call said that she thought adventure came out of security. That really hit me. If we don't know that we are loved, or we don't know that God is out for our good, if we think He can't be trusted or doesn't care, it is almost impossible to step out into any adventure. There isn't anything safe feeling. How can we trust Him when we don't even know if He knows who we are?

I am seeing that there is a process of growth here. If we can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are profoundly loved, we are freed to move forward into the adventure of life with Jesus. But if we don't have that deep sense of lovedness, we freeze up, hole up, shut up, and never allow dreams to soar. I guess this really makes sense in the face of a gospel too often preached that says we are worm scum and valueless without God's redemptive work. I think the opposite of that - that because we are worth redeeming (maybe despite ourselves) Jesus died for us. It is because of our value that He came, to remove the sin, so we could draw close to Papa. Our inability to fix ourselves (and our tendency to try to run our own lives) leaves us in need of someone to do what we can't. Not because we are worthless, but because we are worth while. Our sin stinks, not us. We are God's kids in need of some cleansing, not worthless beings that God tries to stomach and can't look at without a good bath.

I notice that my sense (and hunger) for adventure have grown immensely since I finally took in that I am deeply loved. Knowing that I can't get right with God - only He can (and has) made me right - knowing that it isn't about me or my performance - has set me free to take in a love that isn't earned but given. It is all about His work, not mine. Therefore how could I do it wrong? It isn't about me. Jesus took my responsibility and paid it in full on the cross. And there, on that wooden piece of hell, He took it out of my hands. I am secure. I can know that. I can count on that. I can depend on that.

Dare to trust Him. He is still trustworthy, even if you don't 'feel' it. He is secure, even if you don't believe it yet. And He is love, even if you don't understand it yet. Dare to lean on Him. I think He is big enough to handle it.