Courage and the Christian

How important is courage in the life of a Christian?

After all, it’s not included in the list of the displays of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Nor is it included in the list of attributes of love in the well-known “love” chapter in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. These verses describe love as patient and kind, not proud or envious, and not self-seeking or easily angered. But no mention of being courageous!

The importance of courage has stuck with me all week after I studied the biblical account of the courage Queen Esther needed to plead for her people. As the account unfolds in the book of Esther, an edict is proclaimed throughout the kingdom that, on a scheduled day, every Jew was to be killed. Her uncle sent a message informing her of the dire happenings. Then he reminded her that she may have been placed in her royal position “for such a time as this.”

Esther agreed, with her famous response, “If I perish, I perish.”

Now that took courage.

What is courage?

Author and theologian C.S. Lewis said, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.”

Courage is revealed when we are brought to a choice and are still bold enough to display every other godly attribute despite inherent danger. Esther risked her life to address the king. Christians in the early church needed courage to share the gospel in a hostile culture where they were tortured as human torches and lions’ lunches for refusing to deny their faith in Christ. Today, Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere are beheaded for their faith.

Those extreme situations will probably not be experienced by most of us. Yet in our communities, we speak of needing courage to share the gospel. Or to speak about moral issues at work from a biblical worldview that our culture has deemed to be politically incorrect. Or even the need for courage to refer to scientific theories as the theories they are, rather than the facts they are purported to be.

We may not be asked to be courageous in the face of potential loss of life. But that doesn’t make our need any less important. Still, the courage we exhibit does highlight the extent we’re willing to take risks for the cause of Christ.

We need courage to leave our comfort zone, make sacrifices, and value the salvation of another over our own convenience.

The choice is before us: follow the example of Esther or hold back and allow another to receive the blessings for obedience.

We have stepped into a new year, bright with the promise of opportunity, yet clouded with all the risks associated with an unknown future.

Which will you choose?