A few years ago, as a widower in the epicenter of grief, I was content with distantly observing life with little intention of entering again. However, a funny thing happened while standing on the sidelines. I was struck with this thought: Maybe I should explore this world, not only geographically, but culturally. It’s a big world with lots to offer. Within a few months of that thought, in a completely unrelated chain of events, I met and soon married an internationally acclaimed opera soprano. I soon was hearing the world’s best classical music performed by the world’s best classical musicians in the world’s most historic musical cities. God is funny that way.

In my grief I was content with the sidelines. Mercifully, God had other plans, and He made sure I didn’t miss them. For believers, the sidelines, while necessary at times, are not where we should be living.

The Text
In fact, linger for a few moments with the passages below, presented from The Message, and sense the adventure God has for us.

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’ God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are” (Rom. 8:15-17, The Message).

“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective” (Col. 3:1-2, The Message).

Think About It
Many things besides loss can keep us in the spiritual shallow end. We find things that work, and we use the ruts they provide. However, this approach does not lead to an adventurously expectant life. We might be comfortable splashing around in our inflatable kiddie pools, but there is a river of adventure across the bank, and God is trying to nudge us into our kayaks. We need to schedule an adventure, maybe two.

1. Inner Adventure: Jesus constantly invites us on adventures inside our own hearts to repel the crevices and scale the peaks—healing our wounds and leveraging our victories. Adopt a phrase from Romans 8 as a goal for an inner adventure: Let God’s Spirit touch your spirit and “confirm who you really are.”

2. Outer Adventure: If Psalm 104 is any indication, there is much beauty in this physical world for us to enjoy and celebrate: clouds to dream with, mountains to inspire us, beaches and river banks to calm us. The next time you breathe in a sunset, ponder the thought that our beautiful world serves as one big analogy for God’s creative force at work in us. Of all the beauty around us, we are His best work.

Apply It
We can live the resurrected life, a life that’s not meant to be static and boring, but dynamic and moving! Teens who live their resurrected lives adventurously expectant will have a head start in seeing God’s eternal work in this temporary world. They will see the best action in life is the action that happens around Christ. God has given us many tools to help our teens get started on their adventurous journeys: eyes to see beauty, hearts to feel hurt, hands to meet needs, mouths to share testimony, ears to hear stories, and energy to put it all together.

There is a river of adventure waiting to be kayaked. Grab your teens, jump in, and enjoy the ride!

Barry Shafer has been in youth ministry for more than 25 years and is director of InWord Resources. He is the author of Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry (YouthSpecialties/Zondervan) and has written many small-group Bible studies for teens. He lives in Middletown, Ohio, with his newborn son, Reade, and his wife, Jessica, a Grammy-winning opera soprano. You can peek into her opera world at JessicaRivera.com.