Everybody, Always

hitting anything. It turns out whenever you’re going to take to the skies,
the first thing you do is figure out the tallest obstacle in your flight path.
This is mainly so you don’t die. On the way to Palm Springs the tallest
thing was a six-thousand-foot mountain, so I flew over at eight thousand
feet to be safe.
Just after I landed and taxied to the hangar, two guys flying an F- 16
landed their fighter jet and taxied to a stop next to me. They got out
wearing olive green Top Gun suits covered with oxygen hoses, flare guns,
and cool patches. The sunlight hitting the pilots created a halo effect,
making them look that much cooler. Meanwhile, I got out of my airplane
wearing torn jeans, an old T-shirt, and a Mickey Mouse watch. I try not to
compare myself with other people, but it couldn’t be avoided. I glanced
back at my pitiful airplane with duct tape hanging from the wings, parked
next to their F- 16 with missiles hanging from theirs. I felt so inadequate.
I struck up a conversation with the fighter pilots, kind of hoping I’d
get to shoot one of their flare guns. I learned they had flown two thousand
miles to Palm Springs so they could practice flying through the nearby
valleys. They said flying through the valleys made them better pilots. It
tests their skill and their teamwork. It sharpens their reaction time. I
thought back to how I had made my flight plan. I had flown two thousand
feet over the highest mountaintops because I wanted to be safe; these
pilots flew through the valleys because they wanted to get better.
What I’ve come to learn so far about my faith is Jesus never asked
anyone to play it safe. We were born to be brave. There’s a difference
between playing it safe and being safe. A lot of people think playing it
safe and waiting for all the answers before they move forward is the
opposite of dangerous. I disagree. If our life and our identity are found in
Jesus, I think we can redefine safe as staying close to Him. Don’t get me
wrong. Playing it safe and waiting for assurances in our lives isn’t
necessarily bad; it just isn’t faith anymore.
Playing it safe doesn’t move us forward or help us grow; it just finds
us where we are and leaves us in the same condition it found us in. God