I was born to sit in the back of the truck.
I first knew this in Arizona, where my second day living with the Navajos included a trip to the canyon to shoot guns and my first time ever standing in the back of the truck while driving down the road. It was one of the farthest things from “safe.”
Since then, I’ve had opportunity after opportunity to sit in the back of many vehicles. Last year when I went to Africa, we rode in the back of the land rovers (or on top!) all the time. In the Philippines, my teammate Jake and I were always the ones in the back of jeep, dealing with the bumpy roads. I loved it though. Being here in Thailand, we have one truck that normally has to carry between 11 and 14 people. Two up front, four crammed in the second seat and the rest of us hop in the truck bed. We needed to take a plastic chair with us one day for a skit we were possibly going to perform, so I held the chair half out of the truck during the whole 30 minute drive to another village.
It was just the other day though, when I was leaning over the side of the tailgate, watching the road as we drove along, that I realized how “unsafe” and kind of crazy this was that we were that crammed into this truck. This would never happen at home. This is not something I was used to in my safe little life.
And yet, it seems so normal now. It seems typical to fit 15 people in one vehicle. It now is my everyday life. And yeah, it’s not safe. But since when is God ever safe?
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S.Lewis uses the character Aslan to represent God. As the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy enter into Narnia and speak with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, they realize that Aslan is not a man, but a lion.
“Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the lion, the great Lion.” (Mr. Beaver)
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.
That’s it. He’s not safe, he doesn’t call us to safe things. Sitting in the back of that truck the other day, I realized that so far this year and even over the past few years, God has called me to some very unsafe things.
Riding down the highway hanging over the tailgate of a truck is not safe, but it’s good.
And while God is not safe, He is good.
And in knowing and believing that I can trust him and what he’s called me to do.
He’s not safe, but there’s no worry, because He’s good. Always.
