Daring To Act Paper
Daring to Act Paper
Sophia Jackson
Jonathan Johnson
Timothy Gibson
Matthew Willaman
Ohio Christian University
Christian Excellence
CM3000
Professor Jennifer Cornwall
March 2, 2014
There are in each of our lives appointed times that we must make decisions; stay put, move forward, pray, quit my job, ask for a raise, or simply decide to do nothing but relax. It would seem these are simple notions that bear nothing of consequence or urgency; however just as there are these simple times, there are complex situations that demand our attention, our obedience, and our willingness to act. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed; he was in such agony that he was sweating blood as the weight of the world rested upon his daring decision to act as proxy for all humanity. Jesus spontaneously and unconditionally accepts the sacrifice which the Father is asking of him, and as Christ’s representatives, we too must ultimately make the decision to act and as Jon Johnston says, “We must have enough courage to break the fetters of apathy and respond to our heartfelt convictions” (Johnston, 2004, p. 158). As Christians we are called to be people of action and be led by the Holy Spirit, but even before many of us run from the darkness of this world into the glorious light of God, we face challenging circumstances in which we are called to act or not act. Johnston list five reasons why people choose not to act; “they are all talk, not assertive, don’t like risk, wait for someone else to act, or they are passive and choose to just wait on fate to arrive” (Johnston, 2004, pp. 161-162). As Christians we have countless examples of men and women of God that dared to act decisively for the greater good of the people. Daniel and the three Hebrew boys chose to refuse the King’s delicacies and because of their actions they were pleasing in the sight of God (see Daniel 3). David before he became King dared to act and volunteered to go against the Philistine Goliath; this decisive
Sophia Jackson
Jonathan Johnson
Timothy Gibson
Matthew Willaman
Ohio Christian University
Christian Excellence
CM3000
Professor Jennifer Cornwall
March 2, 2014
There are in each of our lives appointed times that we must make decisions; stay put, move forward, pray, quit my job, ask for a raise, or simply decide to do nothing but relax. It would seem these are simple notions that bear nothing of consequence or urgency; however just as there are these simple times, there are complex situations that demand our attention, our obedience, and our willingness to act. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed; he was in such agony that he was sweating blood as the weight of the world rested upon his daring decision to act as proxy for all humanity. Jesus spontaneously and unconditionally accepts the sacrifice which the Father is asking of him, and as Christ’s representatives, we too must ultimately make the decision to act and as Jon Johnston says, “We must have enough courage to break the fetters of apathy and respond to our heartfelt convictions” (Johnston, 2004, p. 158). As Christians we are called to be people of action and be led by the Holy Spirit, but even before many of us run from the darkness of this world into the glorious light of God, we face challenging circumstances in which we are called to act or not act. Johnston list five reasons why people choose not to act; “they are all talk, not assertive, don’t like risk, wait for someone else to act, or they are passive and choose to just wait on fate to arrive” (Johnston, 2004, pp. 161-162). As Christians we have countless examples of men and women of God that dared to act decisively for the greater good of the people. Daniel and the three Hebrew boys chose to refuse the King’s delicacies and because of their actions they were pleasing in the sight of God (see Daniel 3). David before he became King dared to act and volunteered to go against the Philistine Goliath; this decisive
References: Johnston, J. (2004). Christian Excellence: Alternative to Success. Franklin, TN: JKO Publishing.