Tension is stressful. It’s difficult. It demands attention. But only tension can strengthen an otherwise soft and pliable material. Without tension, the tightrope walker could not keep her balance on the rope.

Life is like a rope; a tangled, hard to navigate mess. The tension of competing desires and ideas is what makes us able to strike a balance; find a solution that solves more than one problem; improve our lives and the lives of others.

Tension can be something necessary and good, like the tension of the acrobat’s rope. It can also rise from conflict, demanding a solution. But even the tension of competing forces and interests isn’t all bad (though it may be uncomfortable). The simplest engine works only because two gears are rotating in opposite directions. Whole religions are founded on this principle.

We think and talk about tension as if it is something to avoid, that makes life unpleasant, that sours an otherwise happy occasion. But that simply isn’t true. Avoiding tension only avoids the most direct path forward to a better life. When you avoid confronting a friend who wronged you, you rob yourself of the most direct path towards a better friendship.

As Christians, we experience constant tension between keeping God at the center of our lives and engaging with and being relevant to the godless world around us. As a prisoner in Babylon, Daniel felt the same tension, called by God to serve the king who had all but destroyed Israel.

Fluid 2013 will introduce you to tension in a new light and give you the tools to live and work through it to better reflect the light of Christ to those around you.

Tension can be a gift, a tool. After all, if you don’t walk the tightrope, you have to figure out how to fly to the other platform, or not get there at all.