I have a dear friend, Harmon Parker, who is a missionary building footbridges in Kenya. I admire Harmon immensely. I have another dear friend, Richard Smith, who I also admire immensely. Richard is on a mission field, reaching out to college students in Argentina. There could not be two people less alike than Richard and Harmon. Richard is a brilliant academic, a PhD, and a profoundly engaged theologian. Harmon is a very physical man, a brick mason and bridge-builder—and he’s one of the best blues guitarists I’ve ever known. When I met them, Harmon was a bricklayer and Richard was a courier. At that time, neither of these men seemed, to me, to be a likely candidate for mission work. Now, both have served the Lord for many years on the mission field. Here’s why I admire them: Harmon and Richard have not played it safe. Real Christianity can be dangerous! Today, let’s listen to a familiar scene from Mark’s Gospel and let it speak to us what might be an uncomfortable word:

Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. (Mark 6:45b-50)

If we take a few moments to visualize this passage, we realize that being in a rowboat during a storm must have been truly terrifying for the disciples. Rowing in the darkness, tossed by rough waves, and buffeted by howling winds, and by 3AM, they’d made little headway. How would you have felt sitting in that boat? Mark’s account says that Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When I read that, I thought, “Hooray! Jesus will save the day!” But these disciples weren’t rejoicing, they were freaking out, scared to death that they’d seen a ghost! What can we conclude from this? Theologian Stanley Hauerwas said, “Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather to make us disciples.” I think he’s right. American Christians have domesticated the Gospel, teaching that it’s God's intention for us to be safe and comfortable. But any honest reading of Scripture will only lead us to an uncomfortable conclusion: safety and comfort are not God’s priorities. Jesus was martyred for declaring that he was the Son of God. Not only Jesus, all but one of his disciples were martyred for the same message! Today, nearly 400 million Christians live at risk for embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How about you? Is God calling you to do anything uncomfortable for Him? And if He is, will you do it?