When I think about the life of Jesus, there are many words that come to mind when describing how he lived, like sincere, kind, pure, willing, humble etc. But when I was thinking about His life the word Audacity came to me. As I sat with the word and looked up its definitions, I could understand how Jesus would have been viewed as Audacious during the time he was living in.
For readers, the definitions of Audacity I’m referring to is:
1. A willingness to take bold risks
2. Rude or disrespectful behavior; impudence
Audacity can have both a negative and positive connotation depending on the view of interpretation. As Christians, on the side of Christ, we would naturally view Jesus’ actions and way of life with a positive connotation. He was willing to be bold against the pious leaders of the time and risk his life so that we may be saved (Matt. 23). On the other hand, If you view Jesus from the side of the Pharisees, those who uphold the law to such a high degree; pious, then you might see Jesus’ actions and way of life with a negative connotation. His behavior would have been disrespectful and rude. He broke the laws: doing work on the sabbath (Matt. 12:1-14), and went against many social norms: breaking bread with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:13-17).
I believe that if we are to live a life for His Name Sake, we are going to have to be Audacious. To live a Christian life in the world today is taking a bold risk and to many people it will look like rude and disrespectful behavior because of how counter it is to the world.
My prayer is that we would have the Audacity to live like Jesus. As the world gets darker and darker may we become brighter and brighter by contrast.
In the spirit of Grandparents month, I’d like to focus our attention on the Audacity of the grandparents who have stood the test of time and chose to stick it out with this church called Lifespring. The Audacity of the grandparents who decided to pick up all they had and move to another country, believing there was something better for them and their family on the other side.
If we had just an ounce of that Audacity, in our living for Christ, I believe we would see God do amazing things in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Some of us need to have that Audacity in thinking that maybe God can bring a breakthrough, maybe God can heal me, maybe God is bigger than my situation or circumstance.
Father, I thank you that your word and your word made flesh: Jesus are the anchors of our lives. I thank you that we can be salt and light in this world because of Christ in us. I pray that you would teach us how to live a life that is worthy of our calling, to live a life that represents you and all that you are. Let us reflect the image of God that you originally designed us for so that people may come to know you and be loved by you. We love you Jesus and we pray this all in Your Name, Amen!