Lent@Landmark: Day 5

Nicodemus needed to talk to Jesus, but he didn’t want anyone to know. We know that, somehow, he found a way to request a clandestine meeting, and Jesus agreed, because they met at night.

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." (John 3:1-2)

It was an olive branch. Nicodemus was a leader—a position not easily acquired amidst the complicated politics of first century Roman-occupied Israel. One wrong move could easily be the end of any current or future leadership role. He had much to lose, so to take such a risk means he must have come to suspect that there was also much to gain. So he reached out to connect with this mysterious teacher, to see what he was about.

Is God calling you to take a risk that you’ve been reluctant to take? Has the cost of obedience seemed too great? What would it take for you to trust that following God’s call is always worth the risk?