Acts 5:19-21

We want to keep our children safe.  We put our babies in car seats and as they grow older, we teach them to look both ways before crossing the street.  We try to keep track of what they are doing and where they are at.  Yet, in spite of our best efforts, bad things still happen to those we love.  They get sick, they fall and break bones and sometimes tragedy strikes and they die.

God calls us his children.  We know he loves us; Jesus died for us.  We say we believe God can do anything. However, have we really thought about what that means?  God should be able to keep us safe.  In fact, we know that he was able to keep Peter and the apostles safe.  They were in the public jail and an angel of the lord opened the doors in the night and brought them out.  They were in danger, and God made them safe.  The story does not end there.  The angel instructed them to go stand in the temple courts and tell the people about their new life in Christ.  The temple court was where their enemies had arrested them.  To obey the Lord they would have to walk right back into danger.

At daybreak, the apostles willingly obeyed.  They did not believe God was guaranteeing their safety.  They knew the danger was real.  According to early church records, all but one of them goes on to die a martyr’s death.  They were willing to risk earthly death to lead others to eternal salvation.  Because they were willing to confront the danger of death, down through the centuries, millions have heard about, and have accepted God’s gift of eternal life.

Logically speaking we can ask God to keep us safe, or we can ask him to help us live a victorious Christian life; He will not do both.  The truth confronts us; safety is not as important as salvation.  Christ did not die to make us safe; He died to save us.