If we have been brought into a wide and spacious place, then why is every attempt made to limit us to narrow and confined places? Ever since I can remember there were constant attempts to break me, bridle me, saddle me, drill me and ride me. So many things have the tendency to restrict our experience, our thinking, and our life. Instead of helping us to fall more in love and to appreciate the world and all the beauty that is in it, we are taught to remove ourselves, restrain ourselves, restrict ourselves, regulate ourselves and refine ourselves. We are to have life and to have it more abundantly. I don’t think that’s talking about beyond the grave. I think that’s talking about fullness of life now. But instead of living with abandon, we abandon living.
In our community I encourage experimenting with life. I encourage wild and radical and passionate adventures in living. I applaud audacious thinking. It makes it far more challenging because mistakes are made on the road to discovering what is good. I read an interview with an entrepreneur. He said that he failed more than 90% of the time. But that was because he tried so many things, so many start ups. But 10% succeeded and he’s very successful. Those who are very successful in business admit that they’ve made more mistakes than anybody else out there. Why? Because they were willing to risk. But that’s why they’ve succeeded! Same with life I say. True living requires risk.
I don’t want to live a prescribed life. Nor do I want others. I restrain from telling other people how they should live. Ought and must and should are dangerous words I use very rarely. There’s enough of that out there. Let’s think outside the box! Let’s break out of the stall and live outside the corral. Let’s check out the other side of the fence. Here’s to living wildly, adventurously, uniquely and authentically! Here’s to discovering who we are and what we can do in this world! Here’s to making a stir in our communities and inspiring others to do the same! Here’s to living dangerously! For the steps of the righteous are blessed.
The photo is the creation of my daughter Casile.
Contributions to nakedpastor are greatly appreciated.
David Hayward is a pastor artistically stripping to the essential.
Had a friend at work offer this opinion – thought it might fit; sort of:
This philosophy has been condensed from hours upon hours of observation of one Greg MacKinnon and how he gets away with what he is able to. I accept no responsibility for any consequences as a result of applying these rules…
Rule #1 There is no grey, only black and white
Rule #2 Ignore all of the rules
Rule #3 There are no consequences for observing Rule #2
Rule #4 If you would not invite a person into your hut, why care what they think of you
Rule #5 Helmets are for pussies
biker?
But of course
Yay!!
I think you should be able to think and act exactly as you need to in order to fulfill God’s wild and crazy purposes for your life–and as long as you’re acting and thinking exactly like me!
David, I am always inspired when I read pieces like yours, they tap into something that I yearn for at the deepest level: freedom. Christ has set us free, so why do we continually choose bondage? Thank you for encouraging us to move beyond the boundaries that we create for ourselves.
In 3 paragraphs you managed to say what I’ve been unable to for 2 years.
thanks everyone. just a spur of the moment rant!
All of the wild, radical and passionate things I want to do always cost too much money!
yes, money. i so hear ya. i watched some snow-kiters today. my son snow-kites. i can’t afford one.
Fantastic, David. Keep on saying it!
Snow kiters? Is that like kite surfing on snow?
Shoulds, oughts and musts are just the law packaged in another way. Those words bring death.
You are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. This is my body. This is my blood. The Son of man makes you free. You are free, indeed!
Those words bring life!
Thanks for sharing! One thing i’ve noticed is that we have these two conflicting desires. One for safety and comfort and one for adventure and new experiences. Throw into this mix our personalities and life experiences and you get the mess that is our world. And yet, we only have one life on this planet. One may live safe and long, but is that what God meant for us as followers of JC? (I guess you can guess at my own personal inclinations)
I find myself asking, “if as christians, death has no hold, then why are we afraid to die?” Along with that thought is the observation that a baby falls many times before they can walk, so why are we afraid to fail? If we had healthy loving communities, perhaps this would be less of an issue… but instead we focus more on individual salvation and not enough on living together in faith…
and on that note, my brain has stopped and i must now seek more caffeine!
Yes, yes, yes!
… Great post, great photo.