Where Does Courage Come From?
. . . and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? (
Esther 4:12-14
).
You probably don’t remember Jon Meis.
Not that you should. After all, it’s been five years since he briefly became the focus of media attention, hailed as a hero. What we probably should remember, but don’t, is the event that threw him into the national spotlight.
On June 5, 2014 a horrific scene that has nearly become commonplace in our country unfolded on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. A gunman opened fire killing one student and injuring two others. As he paused to reload his shotgun, an unarmed Jon Meis rushed him and took him down. There’s no doubt that the gunman intended to keep killing. There’s no doubt that Jon Meis made a bold decision that saved lives.
In the aftermath of the shooting Jonathan Parnell posted a piece on the
Desiring God
blog titled “Would you Tackle the Gunman?” Parnell had been pondering what Jon Meis did in that chaotic moment at SPU. The story of Meis had prompted him to wonder, “Could I have done that?”
Dishes and Diapers
What kind of person decides to run at the gunman rather than hide?
What is the internal make up of a nineteen-year-old who seems to instinctively act with courage rather than run for cover? And would that be me?
Parnell offered this observation:
“The big moment of courageous action doesn’t occur in a vacuum but has behind it tiny moments of simple sacrifice that have been trending that direction all along. In other words, if we can’t wash dishes and change diapers, we shouldn’t kid ourselves with the idea that we’d step in front of a bullet.”
Often when we speak of defining moments we think only of the big moments, the dramatic life-changing kind of moments. Of course, those big moments are definitive in way that other moments don’t seem to be. But in the far more ordinary moments of our life we are being formed and shaped and readied for the decision or action that will define the trajectory of our life.
Perhaps more than we know, our lives are a sequence of defining moments.
When Esther responded to Mordecai’s ‘such a time as this’ challenge, she did not suddenly become a bold woman. She did not suddenly decide her uncle was worthy of her trust, that his counsel her was important and needed to be heard. A lifetime of moments led to the ‘such a time as this.’ As we observed earlier this week, the large and dramatic moments don’t simply determine the direction of life, they expose what’s already inside of us. They reveal what has been forged over years of ordinary daily commitments.
What Courage Looks Like
There’s a very good chance that this day will present you with a defining moment. Not the kind of moment that asks you to tackle a gunman. Not the Esther kind of moment that calls you to step up and save a nation of people. The courage you need for this day may look quite different.
Courage is not something that we need only for the crisis moment, the big event, the history making decisions and actions. Courage is something we need from week to week in the most ordinary of ways.
Courage may be required to end a relationship that isn’t good for you.
Courage may be required to start a relationship.
Courage may be required to take the new position and move to a new place.
Courage may be required in hard conversations with someone you love.
Courage may be required when you show up this week or surgery or to begin chemo.
Day after day, ordinary people are called upon to act and live with courage. This week, courage just might be required of you. Our culture tends to speak of courage as if it is something that simply resides quietly in the human spirit. Maybe. Most likely it is cultivated and nurtured in daily acts of faithful service and ordinary sacrifice.
By God’s grace you will probably not find yourself in a moment today that requires you to tackle a gunman. I pray you never will. But I also pray that in whatever this day holds for you, you’ll become the kind of person who could.
Prayer:
Give us the courage we need for this day, O God. Make us ready for the ordinary demands of the life you’ve given us – the daily tasks of dealing with family members and showing up for work; courage to speak truthfully; courage to reach out to those whom others avoid. In the things that are right in front of us make us ready for what we cannot see. Make us who we are meant to be, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mark H. Crumpler
Teaching Pastor
