A Dangerous Man – Part 1

When I was a kid, I absolutely loved playing secret agents. My friends and I would put on our Sunday suits and pretend to be agents of her Majesty’s Secret Service. It could be well over 90 degrees outside, but there we were, dressed as cool as any 007 Bond character. Eventually, we would be called in from the field by our superiors (our Moms) and questioned about our critical …umm, intelligence. We would emerge from the debriefing knowing that sadly, the only undercover work in our future was an early bedtime. Shaken, but not stirred to change the parameters of our daily mission, we would put our suits on under other clothes before leaving the house. After all, spies live dangerously don’t they?

Since those early days of high imaginative adventure, I have made three real dangerous and life threatening decisions. They have fueled my life with high octane radical risks and pushed the envelope of who I really am.

I decided to become a Christian.
I decided to become a husband.
I decided to become a father.

Those three cords of my life have made me a dangerous man. For they are training an agent of change within me, completely altering the previous covert tactics of my life. My secret cover has been exposed and my personal “safety” has been compromised. The life I live is no longer a top secret file, tucked away for my eyes only. As a son of the Father, my life is now one of public record, the way I walk out my faith should be visible for all to see. Through the countermeasures of living a Godly life, I have become a spiritual threat to the kingdom of darkness. I am a spy who came in from the cold dark world of self absorption, and entered a new one that is transforming me into a compassionate world changer. His presence in my life makes me a “mover and a shaker” and through me ( a obedient me, that is), He can impact the world around me. Like Elijah, that impact can make all in His Majesty’s service troubling to the system that runs counter-current to God’s design..

“So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” (1 Kings 18:16-17)

I love his answer, for it speaks of the truth of the situation when sin is called out and exposed.

“I have not made trouble for Israel, Elijah replied. But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord 's commands and have followed the Baals.” (1 Kings 18:18)

Later on in the chapter, Elijah demonstrates through a rather intense holy barbecue, just how effective a “troublemaker” can be when he is obedient to God. He risks by trusting in the Almighty God and his faith is rewarded. The fire is lit, God is revealed, and the instruments of darkness are purged.

“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord -he is God! The Lord -he is God!" “ Then Elijah commanded them, Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away! They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there”. (verse 38-40)

When we are consumed by the Father, He “passionates” our being, empowers the way we love our wives and the way we father our children. If we focus on helping our children develop Godly character, if we love our wives like Christ loves the Church, if we just trust Him, we can change a little bit of the world in this manner. Just recently, the Father said the following to my wife. “How would it be for you if you actually trusted me”. Wow, what a challenge! Talk about calling down a little holy fire to purge the darkness around us. If we would truly believe what the Lord says through His Word, through our prayer time, through the pastor, our lives would be radically changed. Sure it’s risky to love with this kind of focus, we become vulnerable and draw attention to the principles we say we live by. We become a target for all sorts of criticism and put ourselves right in the firing line of some extreme disapproval of those whose standards we challenge. Oh, but the spiritual payback is so worth it. After the birth of my daughter Rebecca, we received flowers and this note from my nephew.

“Whenever I want to be assured in the existence of love and happiness, I look at your family.”

Now that’s an impact of enormous generational significance!. Fashioned in my nephew’s mind is a flash card picture of love, depicted through the life of my family. God is revealed in the substance of the fiery stands we make, when we bank on His character to change us. The Father’s imprint presses our character from the inside out, causing the maximum impact on those around us. In the risky, head-long pursuit of Him we become dangerous to whatever the enemy tries to flood the world with. When society says that marriage is passé, and that fatherhood is not important, we can show them God’s design is the most relevant force on the planet by the way we walk out our faith. It is a lifestyle of risk-taking that Jesus is trying to teach his Church, each quest compelling us to follow hard after Him.

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalm 63:8

Just how “dangerous” is dangerous? More in part two.

Blessings, Jay

Viewed 635 times

© 2009 Jay Cookingham - All rights reserved.
Jay Cookingham recently published two articles for the God's Way series. You can visit his home page at http://Jaycookingham.com

This column is used with permission.