The beauty of a continuum is that there is an almost endless number of possibilities between the two end points. And the good news? Everyone is better off when we operate in the wide-open spaces between the polar opposites of safe and stupid.

You might be thinking?

Aren't Christians supposed to be safe, conservative, sheltered...

I don't think so.

Let me give you two reasons:
[1] God is not safe. He is described as many things in the Bible, but never safe. He does provide safety; a refuge for the lost, hurt and weary. But he is not safe.
Take this classic conversation from the Chronicles of Narnia:

          "Aslan is a Lion - the lion, the great Lion"
          "Oh, is he... quite safe?"
          "Safe, who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe.
          But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

[2] God doesn't want us to be safe. The so-called "Parable of the Talents" from Matthew 25 tells the story of three workers who were given three sums of money. One buries it and the other two go out and make a return on what they were given.
I was reading Matt Perman's discussion of the parable and I was struck by this comment:
"the person who buried his talent was rebuked and called faithless - to play it safe is not commendable to God" [What's Best Next p.64]. God will protect us, but he calls his people to go out and use what they've been given, not to play it safe.

Where do you operate? What's your natural inclination?

Each of us have a tendency to lean in one direction or the other -
looking forward
and deciding on caution;
or
looking back
and realising the consequences.

I tend to be too safe, too comfortable.
It's time to reach out for more
and see all that God has in store.

I want to operate in the sweet spot because that's where I'll be most productive, most effective, most creative, most fruitful; that's where I'll do the most good - and I'm eager to do good.

This middle ground is often elusive, but it shouldn't be.

Photo // Joshua Kim @joshua__kim

In this wide-open space we are both secure and free.

Do you need a push?
Or do you need to be pulled back?

Because if push came to shove, in the end I'd rather be safely stupid, than stupidly safe.