Made For Adventure

https://odb.org/MY/2023/01/06/made-for-adventure

There is a sense that we are all created for adventure as we are created in the image of God. God created everything else, the earth and all the creatures in it, the vegetation as food for the animals, whether on the ground, in the sea, or the birds in the air but He only created mankind in His likeness. God was indeed adventurous when He created Man in His image as, consequently, Man has a will, the ability to decide and choose. It was a risk that God took, but God was adventurous and was willing to take the risk. Although Man sinned and was banished from Eden, God sent Jesus to die for our sins and has now redeemed us. Thus, we now have the new heaven and earth to look forward to at the end of time, the new Eden where we will all dwell again with God as He originally intended.

We can see evidence in the Bible of the adventure in mankind when we see Abraham responding to God’s call to move out of the Url of the Caldeans to a promised land where his descendants will be as numerous as the sand at the seashore and as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham will raise up a nation that will be a blessing to all the nations of the world. Abraham didn’t know exactly what He was responding to, and yet he took the step of faith to move, he and his entire family (and his nephew Lot) with all their possessions, including their servants and livestock.

Moses also responded to God’s call after he was filled with compassion and indignation, seeing an Israelite being bullied by an Egyptian. He was also adventurous as the task to lead a whole nation of 600,000 men (not counting their women and children yet) who were enslaved to the most powerful nation in the known world then, slaves who were necessary for the economy and wealth of the Egyptians. It’s an impossible task! And if the Pharaoh agrees, the logistics of bringing so many people with all their possessions and livestock out of Egypt, over the Red Sea and across the wilderness into the Promised Land of Canaan. To make matters worse, they wandered about for 40 years!

The early disciples of Jesus dropped everything and followed Jesus when He called them to be fishers of men. They followed Jesus for the whole 3 years across the places He ministered and then into a lifetime of ministry and preaching of the Gospel from the day of Pentecost until their last breath.

Likewise, from the day we knew Chirst and accepted Him into our lives as Lord and Saviour, it has been a roller coaster adventure of living for Christ and fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives. Nevertheless, there are many new adventures and quests ahead of us as we follow Christ. Be bold and courageous, the Lord said to Joshua as he led the Israelites across to the Promised Land. It is a land filled with milk and honey and yet inhabited by giants (the sons of Anak) and filled with fortified cities protected by strong armies. Yet, with God on our side, who can be against us?

Be adventurous when God calls us! Be strong and courageous! Be willing to step out of our comfort zone and move with God in faith. Don’t over-calculate and over plan. Trust God and move in faith. Be adventurous as that is how God has made us! We are made in His image, and He is an adventurous God! Go on that adventure with the Lord as He leads us to new challenges and new paths in 2023! We will achieve greater heights and conquer bigger lands for the Lord!