Are you safe?

“We’re not so blasé, not so willing to accept that we’re safe and we can let someone do our security for us.  We’re not going to sit there and wait for somebody else to do it because if you wait it might be too late.”

That’s what one of the passengers that was almost blown-up on flight 253 Christmas Day said.  They took action.  We understand that.  Sometimes you have to take responsibility for yourself.

Is non-flying stuff different? 

Let’s say you do the typical church thing.  You sing along with your worship team for 15 minutes and hear a 40-minute message from your pastor.  Maybe you go to a class for an hour.  Or maybe you serve as a greeter or teach children.  Maybe you’re extreme and you’re part of the production/worship team and you spend several hours a week preparing.  All good and important. 

But in general, it’s almost all on Sunday for a few hours max.  You depend on your church to feed you and for opportunities to serve.  If your church doesn’t teach it, you probably don’t learn it.  If your church doesn’t recruit you or push you, maybe you don’t serve.  You don’t have to think about it – someone does that for you.

Is that enough to keep you and others safe?

Or, maybe you do what passengers on airplanes are doing now – take responsibility for yourself.  For knowing, understanding and following the Bible.  For struggling with awareness of how God has wired you and for how he’s leading you.

If your church were suddenly gone, would you find yourself sitting there waiting “for somebody else to do it” – to teach you, to read your Bible for you, to push you to serve people?  Does what you’re doing now apart from church look any different from most unchurched unbelievers, just maybe a little more moral?

If not, is that safe?

Comments

[Steve McCranie]

Excellent post, Gary.