You Cannot Serve God and Safety
Luke 8:22-39
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.”
So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.
He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Jesus is a man who chose a group of men to take his message to the world. However, one of the first things he does is send those men into danger. Why?
Once they’re out of that danger, he brings them into a different terrifying situation. Why?
These are not easy questions, but I’d often rather avoid them. Wouldn’t you? We’re comforted to read of Jesus’s compassion on the crowds. And I love how Jesus welcomed children, encouraging us that we must be like them. But I have to work to remind myself that Jesus sends his people into danger. He sends his followers, which today would be you and me, into dangerous and difficult situations.
Paul said that God is the “God of all Comfort” (2 Cor 1:2). That would make sense to us if it was said by a man who lived a safe life studying the Bible in a seaside village with a sunrise view.
But Paul was one of Jesus’s chosen teachers who wrote about this experience of danger as a worker and a “servant” for Jesus. Paul had been repeatedly beaten by police, even after he had been attacked with rocks and presumed dead. What kind of “comfort” is that, Paul? We feel like saying, “Paul, you keep using that word. I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”
When incarcerated for years without a proper trial, he described the situation like this: “I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance.” (Philippians 1:14)
Paul clearly hoped for freedom, and he asked the Church to pray for his release, so that he could do useful work for God’s people. He loved working to help build the faith of others, and he fervently depended on Jesus. He knew that by enduring suffering with his body and constantly doing the work of prayer and of teaching that God enabled him to do, he would know Jesus better and ultimately join Jesus.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11
Think back to those first disciples in Luke 8, who were sent by their new master into a deadly storm. When the boat began to sink, they didn’t go to Jesus for help: they went to inform him that they were all going to die. “Master, we are perishing!” (Luke 8:24)
Jesus is kind enough not to say, “No, with me you’re indestructible.” They really didn’t pray as they ought to have prayed, but he gives them what they need anyway by stopping the storm. Then he says:
Where is your faith? Luke 8:25
Looking down at his wet, thunderstruck interns, he wasn’t berating them for needing help. He was teaching them — and us — that He will send us into risky places. In that danger, we are to hope in him and seek his help. When we ask him, he will provide deliverance, either in this life temporarily or in eternal life permanently.
But this is very uncomfortable in the here and now. Think of those who were interested in Jesus, but when Jesus said, “Let’s go across the lake,” they looked at the weather and played it safe.
If you and I live our lives making choices to stay safe and relaxed, we will not be safe. Jesus once warned us about money saying, “You cannot serve both God and money.” You “serve” money by organizing your life and making your decisions primarily to get the benefits of money. Similarly, you cannot serve both God and comfort. Paul virtually equates our suffering in Jesus with living a life as a child of God:
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16-17
We can have an attitude that says, “If it doesn’t feel safe, I’ll just stay put.” But that’s dangerous; it may be a sign you’re prioritizing your own comfort above following God. Be on guard against this dangerous form of safety!
When we’re sure God is opening a door for us to do work in his kingdom, but it’s really uncomfortable to walk through, will we do it? Will we sacrifice our comfort and ease, trusting that he will calm the storm, cast out the demon, or take us home forever? I personally find this incredibly challenging — both thinking of myself and my children. But I dare not ask them to avoid challenges.
When we have confidence that Jesus asks us to do difficult things but promises to help us in our need, we can obediently trust him as we have difficult conversations, take risky trips, choose cuts in pay, or invest months in learning a language. Just like Jesus helped his disciples in that boat, he promises to help us too because He really is the God of all Comfort.
He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
