So, today we hit post number 3 in my series of 5 posts on the character traits contained within the vision of People of the Second Chance‘s Grace Mob.
If you missed the previous 2 posts they can be found here:
So, how does the Grace Mob define Courage?
You are willing to take risks and operate out of your personal comfort zone. The acts of grace and forgiveness require extreme bravery to surrender our rights to get even. Courage is demanded to live a life of surrender. This trait is also required to live honestly and to have “everything in the light” in the context of community.
So, what does it mean for you to have courage?
So often we define courage as being able to do extreme things in life, like sky dive or bungy-jump, but do we ever call someone who chooses to forgive that one person the world will say is beyond a second chance courageous?
For me, that is the epitome of courage.
Let us simply look at our one true role model, Jesus. He chose to forgive while He was being beaten and tortured. While they were nailing His hands and feet to a wooden cross, and even while He was hanging on that very cross, drowning in His own blood. For Him being God, he could probably curse each and every person that did these things to Him, or He could have saved Himself off the cross, but He chose not to.
He came to earth, knowing exactly what was going to happen to Him. Would you have been willing to show such courage?
Would you be willing to leave everything you have, go to another country, where you know that if you get caught, you WILL be tortured and probably killed? Would you, while all this is happening to you, be willing to truly forgive those that are doing these things to you?
I would definitely have to think long and hard about that…
We so often define courage by the rules the world tells us courage is, but courage is shown more in the small, little things that we need to do within our hearts. The world does not even have to see it, but God does. That is where true courage comes to life. When you can forgive that person that raped you while your husband was tied up downstairs. When you look that person in the eyes during his court hearing, and you walk up to him, and tell him that you forgive him, and then truly mean it.
That is courage.
Courage is confessing your transgressions to the people who you love the most. Maybe uncovering things that might drive them to walk away from you, because they are simply just so bad. Courage is doing these things. Things that most people will think is fine if you would choose to rather keep quiet about them.
How are you going to show courage today?
