We all carry the deeply ingrained desire to protect our loved ones and those entrusted to us—especially our children. And many among us also feel the call to protect the innocent and the stranger in some way, whether through the armed services, police force, social services, or ministry work.
Unfortunately danger sometimes arrives from unexpected sources. We pour energy into creating safety nets where we foresee the possibility of harm, waging war against “stranger danger,” teenage drug use, or a home break-in. We educate our kids and secure our homes against the threats, only to have the danger arrive in the form of a betrayal by a trusted sports medicine doctor who worked on your gymnast daughter, or a powerful boss who employed your child, or an accident you never saw coming.
Sometimes the challenges arrive while we’re battling other things, swooping in via our blind spots in a way that could be detrimental to our family’s safety, resulting in terrible consequences. These enemies can come in the form of spiritual, physical, philosophical, or human adversaries.
In Joel Rosenberg’s high-stakes political thriller, The Kremlin Conspiracy, the danger arrives from one of these unexpected places. Secret Service agent Marcus Ryker is protecting a US president who is consumed by legitimate threats coming from North Korea and Iran. Unfortunately the president fails to see a growing threat coming from a Russian head of state who is silencing his opposition and building his power. And while Marcus is fighting global threats, guarding generals, senators, presidents, and prime ministers in an effort to protect his country and its allies, his own family faces danger close to home.
On the other side of the world, the Russian president’s son-in-law, Oleg Stefanovich Kraskin, serves as a close aide to the powerful leader while also desiring to protect his family and country. The question for this man becomes how far he will go to protect his loved ones and mother country. How great a sacrifice is he willing to make?
Both men must make a decision about how they will face these threats. Will they speak up to those in power and take action, or remain silent and do nothing? British statesman Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Often, facing danger means choosing to do something rather than remaining silent and being complicit in wrong behavior.
The majority of us thankfully will never be put in positions as dangerous as Marcus and Oleg, but we can all choose to be voices against the threats that arise in this world, to speak up for others when they are oppressed. On this earth we will never be fully protected from the danger all around us, but we can shore up our inner strength by being willing, with God’s help, to live courageous and sacrificial lives. Making these choices will look different for everyone; our circumstances vary. We need to stay on our guard, deciding in advance which lines we will not cross and what we are willing to sacrifice for justice and the good of others.
What are some ways you could face danger rather than running from it? Please let us know in the comments below.
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