August 7, 2023
Melissa Valerio
The things that people will risk their lives for! Back on August 7, 1974, a man by the name of Philippe Petit performed on a high wire stretching between the top of the twin towers in New York City. For a full hour he walked back and forth between the two buildings, laid down on the wire, saluted the sky and said hello to the birds. (Story found here). He did all this without a safety net below him; so, falling off the wire would have meant sudden death. Was this man crazy? Risky? A thrill seeker? Probably all of the above. But if you think about it, Jesus kind of asks us to do the same thing. Kind of.
In Matthew 16:24, it reads “Then Jesus said to his followers, ‘If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.'” (NCV) I would be so bold as to say this is even harder than walking on a high wire hundreds of feet above the ground with no net. Trusting God is the biggest, yet most rewarding risk we could ever take. It means giving up all our comforts and conveniences in the way we live our lives. It means taking our relationship with Jesus to the next level which always includes dying a little more to ourselves. It could mean the death of our reputation or our image in other people’s eyes. It could mean the death of habits we have grown accustomed to. It could even mean the death of relationships if they are not honoring the Lord. Standing UP for Jesus…that is the biggest risk we can take. Are we crazy? Risky? A thrill seeker? Probably all of the above. But in this case, the only death we will see is death to ourselves – and more abundant life with Him.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give us the courage to follow You and stand for You. In a world that seeks to pull us away from You, give us the strength and will to stand firm in Your ways. You gave up everything for us. There is no reason we can’t give up everything for You. Give us that desire. In Your blessed name, Amen.
Action: In Mark 15:43, we read the account of Joseph of Arimathea taking a risk by asking Pilate for Jesus’ body after He died on the cross. He risked his life and reputation by doing this. During that time, anyone who publicly announced their allegiance to Jesus was martyred. Thankfully, we live in a much more peaceful time. Take a moment and offer thanksgiving to the Lord for allowing us to live in a time where we are free to worship Him without fear of harm. Then thank Him for all the followers that went before us that paid with their lives to bring us the gospel.