In 2 Nephi 28:21, we learn that one of the devil's most effective strategies is to pacify us, and lull us away into carnal security. He's got a million sticks and a million carrots and he's not too fussy about which one to use, so long as the end result is that we are tame and docile and feel safe and secure in our little comfort zone. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is not so focused on our carnal security. His disciples, knowing from heavenly revelation that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, might have thought that as long as they had Him onboard their boat, they would be safe and secure. Several hours of constant terror and fighting for their lives against waves that towered over them and winds that threatened to tear their little boat apart plank by plank may have caused them to revise the idea that they were safe and secure around Him. While they traveled with Him, they had to face down angry mobs, armed guards, and even disease-ridden lepers. When Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount, it wasn't by and large a comfortable and carefree group that He was blessing. The poor, the mourners, the meek and the hungry, and last of all, those who are persecuted and reviled. In fact, most of His sermon is more or less advice on how to endure and overcome a rather discouraging parade of unsafe and desperate circumstances. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis describes the character of Aslan, an allegorical representation of Jesus Christ, as “not a tame lion.” The character Mr. Beaver, in response to a question of whether or not Aslan is safe, says, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” Christ tells us that it is better to cut out our eye if it offends us, or to chop off our arm or our leg and hobble into the Kingdom of Heaven halt or maimed rather than to remain whole and safe in our carnal security and be thrust down to Hell. He invites us to take up our own cross and follow Him through a path that will ultimately be for our good but could never be described as safe. His servants have stood in front of the firing squad. For some, the arrows whizzed past, never leaving a mark. For others, the stones struck with devastating accuracy. Others have followed Him into the flames themselves. Again, some left the flames behind without even the smell of smoke on their clothes, while others left behind only the charred remains of their burnt bodies. Choosing to come unto Christ requires a sacrifice of our comfort and carnal security. Our hearts will be broken, our spirits contorted and constricted. We will be swallowed up and ground down and pulverized until there is nothing left of our old selves. But then we will be built back up, better than ever before. Our Heavenly Father gambled the eternal fate of billions on the goodness and the strength of One. He is not risk adverse. He does not play it safe. He created each of us with flaws and weaknesses and placed us in a fallen world filled with distractions and dangers and gave each of us the freedom to choose our own destinies and somehow He believes that enough of us will make the same kind of risky gamble on this crazy plan of His. Going forth with faith is not safe, but it is good. We were never meant to be tame lions, pacified and lulled away into carnal security. Following our Savior will never be safe, but as long as we put our trust in Him, by the time that He is finished with us, then neither will we be safe housecats anymore, but fierce and unstoppable and untamed lions.
