Life as Adventure
Have you ever thought of your life as an adventure? Our kids used to love reading the Choose Your Own Adventure book series when they were younger. The stories are formatted so that, after a couple of pages of reading, the reader, as the main character in the story, faces two or three options, each of which leads to more options, and then to one of many endings. The number of endings could range anywhere from 12 to 40. This allows for a realistic sense of unpredictability, as the reader chooses their own adventure. Life is a lot like that!
Every
adventure starts with a calling or mission then proceeds through various
challenges and struggles to an eventual destination. Adventure requires making
a choice to step out of our comfort zones of safety into the risk of unknown
worlds of opportunities. There are
dragons to slay and mountains to conquer. You choose you own adventure.
Have you ever thought of your life as an adventure? Every
adventure starts with a calling or mission then proceeds through various
challenges and struggles to an eventual destination. Adventure requires making
a choice to step out of our comfort zones of safety into the risk of unknown
worlds of opportunities. There are
dragons to slay and mountains to conquer. You choose you own adventure.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that
you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.” [Mark Twain]
"A ship is safe in harbour, but
that's not what ships are for." [William Shedd]
“Life is either a daring adventure
or nothing at all.” [Helen Keller]
“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone ... I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!” [J.R.R. Tolkein in The Hobbit]
Father Abraham
Genesis 12 is the central passage of the book of Genesis. Here
we move from the history of mankind, beginning with the creation of the world
by God, to the history of Israel as a nation, beginning with the story of Abraham.
Into a situation of hopelessness and barrenness, with no foreseeable future (Gen.11:30),
God spoke and called Abraham to leave home and follow Him (Gen.12:1-3). Abraham was to become the “father of
all who believe” (Rom.4:16). Abraham’s story introduces journey as a metaphor for the life of faith.
We are called to follow God in a life of pilgrimage, moving with God through
life, in a multi-generational journey of faith – an adventure.
The Adventure of Your Life
Like Abraham, God calls you to follow him … on this
adventure called LIFE. But that invitation requires a response. We have a
choice to make. Abraham was a man of faith and action – he went, he took, he
entered, he built, he journeyed, and so on. He obediently acted on the
revelation he received, despite the tensions created by his own age and the
barrenness of his wife.
God’s will is not something extremely hard or unenjoyable.
The apostle Paul called God’s will “good, pleasing and perfect (Rom.12:1-2).”
Jesus described his burden as “easy and light” (Matt.11:28-30) and said he came
to give us a “rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10)” in contrast to the thief
who wants to steal, kill and destroy. There is much freedom in God’s will, with
few prohibitions and many possible choices (Gen.2:16). Even God’s commands are
“for our good” (Deut.6:24). Who will we trust? Yes, there is a cost to
discipleship … but there is also a joy.
1. God is your companion and guide on your adventure.
God called Abraham into a relationship with Himself and to
be a part of His covenant purpose for the world. In responding to God’s call,
Abraham moved from being a pagan who worshipped many gods to becoming a
worshipper and “friend” of Yahweh, the true God of heaven and earth. This was a
conversion by faith and obedience, in response to a revelation from God.
God calls us too, as children of Abraham, into relationship
with Himself. God speaks to us be His Spirit and His Word. Like Abraham
(Gen.12:7-9), we are to respond by building an altar of worship and prayer in
our lives, as an expression of our devotion to God. Our adventure is about
honouring God, growing in our relationship with him, and seeking him for
guidance along the way.
It’s a call to PRAY.
Prayer is simply conversation or dialogue with God – sharing whatever is on our
heart with him and listening to the voice of his Spirit. Through faith and
complete trust in God we can overcome the unbelief, doubt, discouragement, and
apathy that so often hinders our prayers.
“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest
adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.” [Saint Augustine of
Hippo]
2. Your Adventure is a Shared Experience
Abraham was given two instructions: (1) leave and (2) be a
blessing. Intertwined with these instructions, were two sets of three promises
each. In the first set, God expressed a commitment to Abraham to make him into
a great nation, to bless him, and make his name great. In the second set of
promises, God said he would bless those who blessed Abraham, curse those who cursed
(or showed disdain or contempt), and that all peoples on earth would be blessed
through him. This was the highest goal for Abraham’s calling. God was working
through one family for the benefit of all families. This included sharing the knowledge of God, which
Abraham had possibly already engaged in with those he had taken into his
household (see Gen.12:5).
We too are called to be a part of a community of faith, the
church. No one is to do life alone. Together we can discover meaningful
relationships and a sense of belonging. From there we too can SHARE with others the good news about
the God we worship and serve. Church exists for mission – for others. This
starts with hospitality and flows out to sharing our faith in God.
3. Your Adventure serve a greater purpose.
In the middle of two sets of promises, God instructed Abraham
to “be a blessing”. That is, Abraham was to let this blessing work in him and
his family in order that he might become the agent through whom God might bless
others. Unfortunately, blessing for
the entire world never became a program for concerted action by God’s people until
after the ascension of Jesus.
In the same
way, Jesus calls us to follow him, to go into the world, and to be a blessing
to whoever we come into contact with. Our adventure is for others. It’s about contribution, service and making a
difference. God has shaped us for a specific purpose and he has some good works
for us to do (Eph.2:8-10). Use your gifts to SERVE others.
DEVOTE 3 - Our Response
As a
response to God's relentless love for us, and the adventure that he has called
us to embark on, we want to commit ourselves afresh to be devoted to God this
year - to PRAY more passionately, to SHARE our faith more intentionally, and to
SERVE with our gifts more wholeheartedly. As we do, we will see a greater
fulfillment of our mission to be fervent followers of Jesus Christ reaching out
to our world.
Reflection Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you stepped out of your
comfort zone to do something new.
2. What inspires you most about Abraham and his
response to Gods call?
3. Consider the difference between pioneers and
settlers. How can we keep that sense of adventure in our journey of faith?
4. Reflect on “God’s will” for our life and the
different ways that he guides us.
5. What goals or changes you are going to make
as a part of DEVOTE 3 in 2013?
6. Consider the concept of “motivation.” The first
believers “devoted themselves” to some important practices (Acts 2:42-47).
Where did this inner motivation come from and what fuelled it?
7. Remind yourself of an answer to prayer that really built your
faith in God.
8. Write out your own story of coming to faith in
Christ. Who shared with you?
9. Make a list of some people in your world who you
would love to come to faith in Christ this year.
10. What
are some of the joys or benefits of serving through volunteering (inside or
outside church)?
[Watch video of message]