A Daring Adventure

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62, ESV). Helen Keller wrote: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” To think of the situation faced by the woman who wrote this and to know that she made her life a daring adventure amazes me. What an ideal to live up to! How can we ever do it? Those are fair questions. Our reading this morning points to some answers. The starting place for me is to find the truth about myself. If we are who we really are, we can say no to the roles others try to place on us, and the things pulling us in every direction every day. We suddenly know what is not true, and we can turn away from that. More importantly, we can now give full energy to our real selves, and with abandon, knowing we cannot be hurt when we pursue the truth. This requires knowing our truth. We can decide the role in our lives of the mundane, earning a living, tending the house and yard, or doing our civic duty. On the other hand, we can decide our role is essential to the plan and purpose of God. If we do, then we’ll still do those mundane things, though now they will be goal centered and purposeful. This thought can be immensely freeing. The second step is to act without delay. We all want to give ourselves some outs, like "reasonable" or "after appropriate study." We study and plan things to death. A recent article said that business plans are a waste of time for most businesses. One can be too reasonable. If we want to move this life and this planet along, we need to start moving. Planning is not doing. The doing will create its own momentum and new ideas and new plans we could never have forecast. Can I guarantee this will all work, and that you won't get hurt? Of course not. I am still working up the courage to be more daring myself. But I can tell you this, daring in the pursuit of the truth sets you free. You turn out to be more than you are. You find out you always were. Most people say "I wish I had done it sooner." Don't cheat yourself and the rest of us: Be your true self. "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Are you looking back with your hand on the plow? If you are, look forward and focus on what lies before you. Take a risk and trust the One who will never lead you in the wrong direction!