I've been thinking about the following quote a lot lately. It has always been one of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but lately it has taken on a whole new meaning:
“Then he [Aslan] isn’t safe?” said Lucy. “Safe?” Said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe but he’s good. He's the King, I tell you."
My God has been too safe, too comfortable, too nice... I wanted Him to remove me from the storm instead of seeing me through it; I wanted Him to make the problems go away instead of being a refuge, a hiding place. I believed He was (and always would be) just what I wanted and needed Him to be. And when I didn't need Him, he sat on the shelf.
"And at times the gap between the god we want and the God who wants us is vast beyond bridging." (Buchanan)
Then one day I, perhaps without realizing the ramifications of what I was doing, ventured out of that safe zone. Into an attempt at Kingdom living. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time. Who is God? What does He want from me? What is His plan? What are His attributes, and how should I be living in light of them? What does it mean to be a Christ follower? What does scripture say and mean about God? Jesus? The Kingdom of God? It has been a roller coaster life ever since. High highs, and lowest lows, but not boring! Awe, amazement, joy, pain, astonishment, frustration, excitement, fear, struggles, discouragement, trembling in light of His holiness. - the whole gamut of emotions. It's not easy. It's not comfortable. It's overwhelming at times, and scary. And it's not safe. God isn't safe - not by any stretch of the imagination. But He's good.
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