Have you been audacious today?

This random thought began this morning as I watched a video clip from Living Waters Ministry. It was a short segment right at the very end and a man was saying "For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten Son..." 

Wait. Did I hear that right? Did he just say "only FORGOTTEN Son"? How could it be that someone would misquote probably one of the most well known verses from the Bible? Then it hit me - that's the way some people treat Jesus, they just forget about Him.

I continued to browse through my morning emails and drink my coffee, thinking all the while about what I had just seen. Then another e-mail caught my eye. Well, to be honest, I almost passed over it because I saw the title and THOUGHT I knew the passage it was talking about....Oh, I know that one already. I'm so glad I went back for a second look at the blog from thehighcalling.org titled "Walking Around in the Skin of the Mat Carriers." (for complete article, click here)

In that article, Mark D. Roberts looked at the life of the men who carried the paralyzed man to Jesus and ultimately lowered him through the roof. (Luke 5:17-26) One particular phrase caught my eye and resonated in my spirit...Mark notes that in verse 20 of the passage, Jesus saw "their faith". (Emphasis mine.) To quote from the article, "What he actually saw, of course, was their audacious act of breaking into a house and lowering a man on a mat. Faith took the form of bold action. It involved taking big risks."

That's when it hit me. I want to live a life of audacious faith. I want to live my life in such a way that people can SEE my faith....not just hearing words but seeing me live in such a way that they can't help but see Jesus. In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, I want to "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words."

In case you wonder what audacious means, I looked it up! The dictionary defines it as "extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless." That's who I want to be - someone who is bold, daring, and fearless in living out my faith! Then maybe people will be able to "see my faith" and remember Jesus - the one I'm living for. I've even gone so far as to make a little post-it note sign for my desk. It says, "Have you been audacious today?"

So how about it? Are you ready to tackle life in a world that has "forgotten" the Son? Are you willing to be audacious in your faith? Are you willing to stand out? Join me in this adventure and let's see just how amazing life can be.