The Crime of Living Cautiously by Luci Shaw

I was given this book a few years ago because the small group I was in at the time was going to read this book together and then have a discussion each week. I started reading it at the time, but didn't really have the time or motivation to keep with it, after our group disbanded and melted into other small groups. This last year I decided I really needed to finish it, so now I have. I finished it this last week. In the beginning of the book I was excited about the idea of living life boldly instead of cautiously, and I think Ms. Shaw had some really good points.

"Because God loves us and wants to fulfill his ardent plans for us, he invites us to broaden our horizons. He longs to expose us to riches we never dreamed of, to realms we've only guessed at. There are barriers to be broken down. They fill us with apprehension at our profound inadequacy. But as we face our fears and trust his love, we can welcome the opportunities and dare the risks. If I fear failure and the possibility of looking foolish, I cut myself off from reward."

I definitely struggle with the fear of looking foolish, or stupid or stepping into the middle of something I'm not comfortable with. However, if I just sit at home afraid of looking foolish then how can I really serve the King? Some of the things the author wrote in the middle chapters of the book, I wasn't sure if I understood very well or agreed with, but in the last couple chapters she talked about the 5 women in Matthew's record of Jesus' geneology, and how they were normal women who took risks and did extraordinary things.

"It's either the safe, secure life, living within the box without enterprise or resourcefulness, or it's the risk of initiative and faith, the road less traveled. Jesus wasn't willing to live the contented, predictable, unremarkable existence of a small-town carpenter. He knowingly abandoned that role and 'set his face toward Jerusalem' and what he knew would be abuse, rejection, torture, Golgotha, death, the grave, resurrection and ultimately heaven so that his Father's purposes would be fulfilled in him. And the five women in Matthew's record didn't just exist, waiting in the shadows to be told what to do, even in the overwhelmingly patriarchal world of their day. They believed. They obeyed. They risked. They acted. They made a difference. And God thinks that is worth mentioning."

If you have a moment also look up 2 Timothy 1:7-10

[All quotes are taken from The Crime of Living Cautiously written by Luci Shaw]