Risk Factors

Rich almost joined our first Penasco, NM mission trip in 1973, so when we discussed a 2025 ride, he suggested Colorado and New Mexico, with several days in Taos, and wanted to ride the 25-miles to Penasco to see what he’d missed. We met some friendly locals, got some old-time soda pops. I spotted the house we’d rented that year, and pulled off to the side and parked, intending to walk back to avoid two U turns in “downtown,” and Rich would wait.

After taking the pic, I turned and saw people standing around Rich. Turns out he wanted to get farther from the road, but the asphalt had a good 2” drop onto some loose ground and rocks. Rich and his Sportster took a tumble, two cars saw it and stopped. They helped…

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Not a Safe God

In CS Lewis’ classic children’s tale for adults, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell the children about Aslan, a mighty lion, a Christ-figure. The leery children ask, “Then he isn’t safe?”

“Safe?...Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”

Many desire a safe God, one who saves us, who helps us, but doesn’t disrupt our lives. But Jesus challenges us to transcend the fatal disease of complacency that afflicts so many of us. We love God, but not passionately. We change, but not radically. We give, but not sacrificially. We rely so much on grace (Ephesians 2:8), that we forget verse 9, that we’re saved to do good works.

Enough.

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