Glory to God: taking risks

Hey, y’all, it’s Mary Shelley Reid here! I blog over at The Reid Who Writes, a Christian lifestyle blog that I hope God uses to point others to Jesus.  Since most of you all probably don’t know me, I thought I’d introduce myself a little:

I’m from Clemson, South Carolina, where I’ve lived my whole life, and I’m sixteen. My passion is words and encouraging others through them. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been Australia-obsessed.

I was planning to write about something simple, something easy. Because I’ve been so busy, I didn’t want to put too much thought into this, to be honest. But in church yesterday, I was convicted of something that I know God is calling me to share with you all.

For those of you who have grown up in the Church, you’ve probably heard of something called the 10/40 window. This is an area between ten degrees and forty degrees north of the equator. Two thirds of the world’s population lives here, and most of them have little or no access to the Gospel. In many of these countries, it is illegal to build a church, carry a Bible, or praise the name of Jesus.

I have to admit, when I think about traveling the world, or even being a missionary, this is the last place I have any desire to go. I think of (of course) Australia, or maybe even a country in Africa that isn’t as dangerous as most of the countries in the 10/40 Window are. I think of fancy European countries, like Italy, France, or Spain.  I think of exciting places with intriguing cultures and really good food; I think of places with beautiful scenery and complete freedom, places makes it easy to leave the United States.

I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that a majority of the people in the 10/40 Window have never heard the true Gospel, either because it’s illegal to teach or because so little people have traveled there to share the Good News. I try to imagine life there, and then I compare it to my simple life. I try to imagine each individual soul, each one so blinded and deceived, so without hope, left to ponder whether their lives will ever add up to more. And then I think of me: I’ve known of the amazing hope offered to me through Jesus Christ for so long, and yet I’ve never once led someone to Christ. I have everything I need now, and not just physical provisions, but spiritual provisions, too.

I knew God called me missions, whatever the form, when I was nine, but never in my entire life have I dreamt of going to Uzbekistan  or Afghanistan or North Korea. Why would I want to leave the comforts of American culture to go to a place where I don’t know the language and where I am constantly oppressed for my beliefs? I thought all this when I was listening to the message on Sunday, and I couldn’t help but squirm in my seat, look at my phone, or anything to get my mind off of this. I was uncomfortable, and I didn’t like it.

And it was then that the speaker said this: The Gospel’s advance involves taking risks. Immediately, I thought of one word, and that word was audacity; audacity, the word that God had placed on my heart at the very beginning of 2016. And it was then that I realized that in this life we are not called to be comfortable.

I am not called to sit behind a computer screen and write my heart out while the rest of the world needs Jesus. I am supposed to go. I am called to simply go, whether it’s my school, my, town, Bangladesh, or anywhere. Wherever God calls me, I need to be prepared to go. We Americans have become so scared to share the Gospel because we don’t like what people will think of us or how people will react. We treasure our own comfort more than we treasure the Gospel of Christ. And that, my friends, is our problem. When we begin to treasure Christ above all else, we begin to see the folly in worldly comfort and how fleeting our time on earth is. Eternity is so much more important than this life, and once we realize that, we can see that sharing the Gospel is so much more important than our own reputation.

God may not call you into missions; He may call you to be a doctor, accountant, teacher, or stay-at-home-mom. But no matter what you eventual profession is, God wants you to take risks for Him. This life's ultimate purpose it to give God glory, and the best way to do that is to tell others of the amazing love story the Bible tells, that despite our sinfulness and rebellion, God Himself came to earth so that justice could be fulfilled and redemption could be made possible. He lived perfectly for us because we couldn't, and He paid the ultimate price of death for us.

Because eternity is so promising for Christians, it is so worth it to be audacious for Christ. Take risks. Push yourself to your highest potential and do what you were made to do: give glory to God.

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p.s. Lauren will be posting on my site on Friday, so be sure to check that out!