Many years ago in a small midwestern town a woman lived and died. She was an elderly spinster; the oldest person in town when she died. Although she had lived in this particular town her entire life, she was not well known by the townspeople. She had done nothing seriously wrong, nor had she done anything of great note.
When she passed away, the local newspaper editor wanted to report more than just the dates of her birth and death, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He happened to stop by the local coffee shop where he learned that the owner of the gravestone company was having a similar problem. Even after thinking it over together, the two men were still unable to arrive at a solution. They just didn’t know what to say about this woman.
Totally frustrated, the newspaper editor returned to his office and delegated the assignment to the first person he saw - the sports editor. Today, if you were to visit the cemetery in the small midwestern town where the woman is buried, you would read this epitaph written by the sports editor of the local paper -
“Here lie the bones of Nancy Jones.
For her, life held no terrors.
She lived alone, she died alone,
No hits, no runs, no errors.”
While you may not be the daring type, there are times when the life of faith requires that we step out and take some risks. The Bible presents many examples -
The Christian life is for the courageous, so let’s live for God courageously. Laying fear aside, let’s live the life of faith to the full! “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Pastor Todd Weston
When she passed away, the local newspaper editor wanted to report more than just the dates of her birth and death, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He happened to stop by the local coffee shop where he learned that the owner of the gravestone company was having a similar problem. Even after thinking it over together, the two men were still unable to arrive at a solution. They just didn’t know what to say about this woman.
Totally frustrated, the newspaper editor returned to his office and delegated the assignment to the first person he saw - the sports editor. Today, if you were to visit the cemetery in the small midwestern town where the woman is buried, you would read this epitaph written by the sports editor of the local paper -
“Here lie the bones of Nancy Jones.
For her, life held no terrors.
She lived alone, she died alone,
No hits, no runs, no errors.”
While you may not be the daring type, there are times when the life of faith requires that we step out and take some risks. The Bible presents many examples -
- Moses walking into the court of Pharaoh boldly issuing the demand, “Let my people go!”
- Joshua and Caleb encouraging the people to launch the daring conquest of Canaan
- Young David with sling and stones in hand running out to face the giant Goliath
- Esther approaching the king’s throne unsummoned to plead for the lives of her people
- Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on water while the other disciples played it safe
The Christian life is for the courageous, so let’s live for God courageously. Laying fear aside, let’s live the life of faith to the full! “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Pastor Todd Weston
