Our verse for today comes from John 21:12, “Jesus said to them, ‘Come and eat breakfast.’ Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are You?’ – knowing that it was the Lord.”
In the 1983 movie Christmas Story, an adult Ralphie Parker narrates the retelling of one particular Christmas from earlier in his life, when he was nine years old and hoping for a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. Leading up to that snowy Christmas, some of the school boys had an argument over what would happen if one of them stuck his tongue to the flagpole. To coerce Flick to accept the challenge, Schwartz resorts to daring him to do it. He ultimately double-dog dares him, and then, shockingly, triple-dog dares him to do it. Rendered helpless by the ultimatum, Flick relents to the immense peer pressure and sticks his tongue to the pole, which immediately freezes to it, holding him there until the fire department arrives to set him loose. I don’t know if there was any peer pressure, much less daring one another, among the disciples on the beach to confirm for sure that Jesus was the one initiating this interaction. But once He bid them to come to breakfast, no one dared doubt His identity.
I would dare say that there are a variety of things that we are prone to do that we shouldn’t dare to. What about complaining? Aren’t we told to do everything without grumbling or arguing? If you would dare hold your tongue as you tolerate the next irritation, do you think God would be honored? Would you dare to not be anxious or worry? Could you place your whole trust in the sovereignty of God to take care of you and your situation? Would that make you more Christ-like? How are you at forgiving? Would you dare to hold something against someone when Jesus Himself taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”? Would you dare require more justice than Jesus provided on the cross? These expressions of our relationship with Jesus are just a sampling of all that God calls us to be within our hearts. If we would dare to be obedient to His full word, then I think we would be much less daring with the choices and decisions we make along the way.
As we seek Him today, dare to be different today than how you might ordinarily be. Do or don’t do, and let the light of the Savior shine forth from you.
Have a delightful Tuesday.
