Day 9: The Kryptonite

Not sure if this is a regular occurrence to everyone, but there are days that I simply wake up feeling invincible. It's like I could wake up with a knife buried in my heart and simply pull it out, toss it in the "Wash" portion of my sink, brush my teeth and get on with my day like nothing happened. I drive to work, daring every truck or vehicle with a ramming bar to blitz a red light and T-bone me so that I can walk out of the blazing wreck, adjust my aviators, and sprint the 5 miles to work. (I'd also inexplicably change into a 3 piece suit during the crash.)

This got me to thinking. (A dangerous pastime, I know.) What if I lived in a constant state of feeling invincible? What would that look like? What would it look like if everyone lived like they were invincible? And then I realized something.

We already are invincible.

Think about it logically with me. How many times do we die? Hebrews 9 gives us the obvious answer :²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

So.... We only die once. Which gives us two other logical deductions. We are only born once, and we only live once. So here is a thought, If God has a definite plan for our lives that makes the best use of us and accomplishes his perfect plan, why are we so scared? And what are we scared of? As Christians, we are already guaranteed a life with Christ after death, so death isn't something we should be scared of as it only releases us into the presence and community of God. And if death isn't to be feared, then what on earth is there to frighten us?

I don't claim to have the answer, but my best guess is that we fear being uncomfortable. We want to have a secure and predictable life. One that doesn't cause too much stress and allows for a sheltered existence, free from all intrusions and inconveniences. I know that there are several ways that comfort can be manifested. Personally, I take no comfort in interacting with anyone that I don't already know. My social range of comfort is extremely limited, to the extreme where I have gone through 4 years of college in fairly small classrooms (less than 100, usually) and I know probably two people's names. I HATE initiating a social exchange, and pleasantries such as "How are you doing? How's your day?" are strained when coming from my throat.

Some people may empathize with me, or maybe they take comfort in the security of their income. They see their paycheck as a barrier between them and the unpleasant world that would befall them if their buying power couldn't get them the most ergonomic style of living possible. Others may find comfort in a physical aspect, avoiding corporal pain or hardships. Whatever our bubble of comfort is, we have to understand that we cannot be effective tools for Christ's hand if we never poke our head out of whatever foxhole we've dug.

This is where the part about us being invincible becomes incredibly potent. It may not be literal hollow points flying at you and harmlessly ricocheting off with sweet sound effects, but Christ knows exactly how you are best used and when you can finally achieve your rest. So think of it this way, until you finish whatever calling God has for you, you can't be stopped. Sure you can be hampered, waylaid, distracted or even outright attacked. But if God is using you as a tool for his master plan, you're going to be able to go all die-hard until your part of the plan is finished. And when that happens, you'll be allowed the greatest comfort imaginable, which is resting in the presence of God.

I like to draw on the wisdom of the movie "Big Fish". A young Edward Bloom muses about the pros and cons of knowing your own death.
 " I was thinking about death and all. About seeing how you're gonna die. I mean, on one hand, if dying was all you thought about, it could kind of screw you up. But it could kind of help you, couldn't it? Because you'd know that everything else you can survive."

And we have much more than surviving to look forward to. So put some figurative shells in both barrels of your shotgun (or literal, If needs be) Step out boldly and with confidence that, while you may not be able to do anything you set your hands to, If you put your hands on God's project, no amount of knives, bullets, mad cow disease, cancer, swine flu, rusty pieces of metal that some idiot keeps leaving on the middle of the sidewalk, or anything will be able to keep you from accomplishing your part in it. But it's up to you, that's the beauty of free will. And if we let it, comfort can be our kryptonite.

"Today isn't certain. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Live every day with God's passion for man's salvation, and be deathly afraid of living timidly.