Stuck in Security

Why are we so stuck on security? If we long for adventure and romance and excitement to be a part of our lives in the way that we do, why are we so concerned with staying safe? (And we all do long for those things, at least a little bit. Otherwise, no one would ever sell any books or movies. Ever.) We read those romance novels and watch those action-adventure films that leave us wanting to pack up our belongings and hit the high seas in search of something more, but then we realize that something more requires us to actually do more. And doing more is scary. Doing something new is potentially not safe. That is a risk people can take in books. That is something fictional people are great at, being not safe. 

In real life, security is where the real people live. There is a place for fantasy and fantastic dreams, but then there's real life, where security holds us in check. It keeps us safe. It keeps us at home, in the familiar, where we know what is expected of us and know how to act. It keeps us in our own culture, interacting with our own kind of people, because who knows what might happen should we stray from that known-ness. It keeps us in our comfort zones, where we eventually die, the end of a perfectly secure and normal life.

Comfort zones are scary places, when you think about it. True, they aren't scary when we're in them. They're warm and happy and filled with cookies and pictures of cute baby animals. But look back on all your past comfort zones. Even if you aren't one to make a point on leaving them, as we grow up we eventually grow out of them just a smidgen. Hopefully our comfort zone isn't the same as it was in middle school, or in kindergarten. Because that would be scary. Precisely. There comes a point where we just can't grow any more than we have already, and at that point we can make a choice. Security or growth. 

And really, there is only one choice that we have. 

I said previously, security is where the real people live, while the fictional ones go on adventures. But in actuality, security is more fictional that we feel comfortable believing. No one but God knows what tomorrow will bring! No one can find true security, because it's something that only God can give. We can have the perfect life plan. We can pursue only the most stable of careers and live in the safest of gated communities. But we can't ever know what awaits us with each new day. Security is a lie, or at least the kind of security that the world is desperately clutching for. Because if we knew the kind of perfect security God had in store for us, we might just shudder a little bit as He calls us out onto the waves. Our comfort zone is hanging out back in the boat, screaming at us to retreat to the safety of that little wooden dinghy. But what if the boat sinks? That could happen. Then what? 

What we think is safety is really nothing compared to Christ and His security and provision for our lives. It may not look like the perfect picture of "safe" as we have come to know and love it. It may look like so much work and courage that we wonder if it's even safe at all! But when the dust settles, Christ is the only security we have. He's the only One who can walk us through those tough times and provide the miracles that defy all reason and logic. So why would we concern ourselves with staying in our perfect little bubbles, where we are suffocating and refusing to grow? We will only find the true security of living a dangerous life for Christ when we take that first step out onto the waves, trusting Him to keep us afloat.