In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
I recently finished Mark Batterson’s book – In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. We are having him speak at Central for our prayer conference in February so I wanted to read his book before then. The book is based on a seemingly obscure story in the Bible about a guy named Benaiah chasing down a lion (1 Chronicles 11:22-25 and 2 Samuel 23:20-23).
I really enjoyed it. There were two themes in it that I thought he developed well. The first and most dominant theme was the idea that Christianity should involve taking risks. Too often we think of it solely as not doing bad things. Batterson makes the point that doing the right things is more important than not doing the wrong things. Here are a few quotes from the book that are along the lines of following God by taking the risks that He has for us:
“God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. A sense of destiny is our birthright as followers of Christ. God is awfully good at getting us where He wants us to go. But here’s the catch: The right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time.” “Spiritual maturity is seeing and seizing God-ordained opportunities.” “If you were to always act in your greatest self-interest, you would always obey God.”The other theme he developed well was the reasons why we don’t embrace the risky things that God has for us. This is obviously the other side of the same coin but it is just as important for us to be challenged on those things that we assume and never question again. Here are a few quotes from the book in this line of thought:
“If you study the teachings of Christ, you’ll realize that learning wasn’t his primary goal. His primary goal was unlearning. He was reverse engineering religious minds.” “Half of spiritual growth is learning what we don’t know. The other half is unlearning what we do know. And it is the failure to unlearn irrational fears and misconceptions that keeps us from becoming who God wants us to be.” “A relationship with God will complicate your life, but it will complicate your life in ways it should be complicated. Sin will complicate your life in ways that it shouldn’t be complicated. One way or the other, life is complicated.”
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