The video below comes from the Lutheran ministry called Thred. THRED is a project of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
The speaker here is: Matt Popovits, who serves as Pastor of Our Saviour New York (OSNY), a family of parishes working together to serve New York City. Matt is also the host of “The Spiritual Howcast” on iTunes and YouTube and the author of “Tough Call: A Little Book On Making Big Decisions.” Matt is married to his high school sweetheart Lisa, and they have two children: Ava Elise and Jack Matthew. The Popovits family proudly lives in the borough of Queens.
This is a very important message to be heard today. It reminds me of the statements in the Chronicles of Narnia where Aslan is called good but not safe. If God does not challenge us or offends us, how do we grow? Our culture seems to have evolved into safe and affirming. While there are good parts to that, there are limits to it also. It limits our growth as Christians.
I think this is an important point to be made in our culture and for everyone to hear. We have evolved to a safe and affirming society and in some ways that is good. In other ways, it limits our ability to grow. In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan is described as good but not safe. I think a God that is good but not safe will offend us and challenge us. That is the only way we can grow in our relationships to God and others.