Most people will not hear this news. Some will think it a shame that a young woman died from a skiing accident. "Why should people fling themselves down a mountain on two thin sticks? Why should anyone die for skiing?"
Here's the thing. I am convinced that Sarah Burke, more than likely, understood that life was a gift and adventure. However, if she saw herself as a china doll, there is no way she would have engaged in the sport of freestyle skiing.
Can thinking too much of yourself be a hindrance to your Christian life?
Paul said this in Acts 20:22-24 to a gathering of Ephesian pastors before he was to head off to Jerusalem. "...I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflications are waiting for me. But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace.
Paul understood some important things. To over-value himself would create a barrier to him finishing the ministry he had been given by Jesus. He understood that suffering and difficulty were closely related to his calling of telling the Gospel of Jesus. Paul got put in jail because he was a Christian preacher. Paul was beaten because he was a Christian preacher. Paul was criticized...ganged up on...shipwrecked...and, ultimately, killed because he was a Christian preacher.
Paul valued Jesus. He kept himself in a right perspective.
We have seasons of life where it seems that our responsibilities require different things of us. I think about my own responsibilities now as a husband of nearly 18 years and a father of four kids under the age of 13 versus what they were when I was as a single unmarried man.
Here's what I know. If I am not careful, I will be tempted to compromise the Gospel when there's a chance if might affect my kids comfort. I might avoid saying what needs to be said if I love getting a paycheck too much. If I love my comfort too much. If I over-value my life.
A warm place to sleep is good. Food is good. Children being safe is good. However, if I love those things more than the Gospel of Jesus, I will never sacrifice much for it. Paul, surely, did not enjoy getting beat up and arrested and driven out of towns. Yet, he did! Why? Because he treasured Jesus above all things. The treasuring of Jesus and his gospel led him to sacrifice much for the gospel's sake.
Life is an incredible gift. Paul would, obviously, tell us that the Gospel is the most valuable gift. Therefore, live accordingly.
Rodney Bradford - Arabi, Georgia
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