Get Up, Stand Up...

Tonight at 7:22 (the young adults group that I have been going to at my church), the Lord really blessed/challenged me (and everyone else who was there I believe) with a great message. The guest speaker shared from the book of Esther (Esther 4:9-16 to be a little more specific). Just as a little background, the Jews were under the rule of Persia at the time and the King, Xerxes had taken Esther (a Jew) to be his queen. After a run in with Mordecai (Esther's cousin who refused to bow down to one of Xerxes men), Haman (the man that Mordecai refused to bow down to) convinced the King to eliminate all of the Jews from the empire. Mordecai found out about this plan and sent word to Esther to ask her to help.

Which is where we picked up in Esther 4:9-16.

9 So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai's message.

10 Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: 11 "All the king's officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days." 12 So Hathach gave Esther's message to Mordecai.

13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: "Don't think for a moment that because you're in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?"

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die."

So Esther, being a realist, tells Mordecai that she can't go talk to the King because he didn't ask her to come to him. If she went to him without being asked, she could be killed. But Mordecai reminds her that she too is a Jew. And is she chose to remain quiet, she too could be killed. Then Esther asks Mordecai to fast and pray and she does the same. She decides that she can't stay quiet any longer. She is willing to risk her life to stand up for what is right. 

How often do we do that? How often do we take risks to do what is right? What are we afraid of? Not many of us face the risk of death on a daily basis, but there are things in our lives that we could lose if we chose to do what was right; friends, family, jobs, reputations... How much are we really risking? There is so much darkness and suffering in this world. How many of us are actually risking everything to fix it? How many of us are actually trying to bring God's Kingdom here on earth? How many of us risk everything to increase Jesus and increase others? I can think of one person who risked EVERYTHING for the Kingdom of God and He died on a cross. He spoke up. He did and said what was right and good and brought God's kingdom here to this earth and He died for it.

How many of us are afraid of making too many waves? How many of us are afraid of what other people will say? I think if we actually were to step out and to live lives that are counter-cultural and not of this world, some people would be pretty upset with us. If we actually lived our lives like Jesus and stepped out of the norm, there would be some opposition. But isn't that what we are called to do? Aren't we called to be followers of Christ? To live our lives like He did? Well he died doing what was right.

What have you risked lately?

(*Disclaimer: All of these questions are things that I am personally challenged by and that's why I am writing them down. They are in no way accusations against anyone specific.*)