Planting Your Flag
I remember games of truth or dare, at school. I remember being challenged by friends – “I dare you! Prove your courage by doing what I dare you to do!”
Usually it was silly stuff - I dare you to tell that girl that you like her, or I dare you to go throw something into that teacher’s class, or whatever.
But then there are dares that get a bit out of hand. People who do reckless things are sometimes called daredevils!! I think of Evil Knievel - a daredevil! Doing devilishly dangerous motorbike jumps in the name of entertainment, taking his life in his hands with each jump.
Embracing the Dare: Living a Faith-Filled Life
I think that buried deep in each one of us is a longing to be daring. To do things that will prove our courage and bravery. Maybe we don’t all want to jump out of airplanes and that type of thing, but we want our lives to show courage and bravery rather than fear and anxiety.
Here’s what I believe: I think that daring to follow God is the greatest act of courage and bravery a human being can perform! The term “dare-angel” just doesn’t sound as cool as daredevil. But I think being a “dare-angel” is tougher than being a daredevil.
To use some actual English words: daring to live your life God’s way is a far tougher but far more rewarding way to live your life, than finding reckless things to do for fun! Following Jesus may not be glamourous, but it is a thrill! It may not have your adrenaline pumping at all times, but it will stir you deep down inside time and time again. It’s dangerous, if you value things like people’s opinions, comfort and security. And it’s rewarding like nothing else in the world!
So today I want to dare us to a life of faith. I want to dare us to believe in Jesus with all our hearts and throw ourselves into a life with him.
In a sense, isn’t this what Jesus did? He walked around Galilee and dared people to take a leap of faith! Dared them to find life in Him! And those who took the dare on, and believed … well, they went on an adventure of a lifetime.
Dare to Believe: Embracing Faith in Action
Jesus says to you and I today “dare to believe!” Dare to put your trust in the One who claimed to be God in the flesh!
Some of you have watched “The Case for Christ”. It’s the story of a man who tried desperately hard to disprove the Resurrection of Jesus, but he couldn’t. But he still fought and fought and fought against this, until a friend said to him “at some point you have to plant your flag and choose to believe, or not! Otherwise you will be wrestling with this forever!
What was his friend saying? Dare to believe! Dare to believe and see what happens when you do.
How about us today? Is God saying to us dare to believe? Plant your flag and take a stand in faith?
The Christian life is all about daring to believe. All of it hinges on whether or not we will believe.
And so plant your flag today, as a follower of Jesus Christ – I dare you!
