Forty eight years ago today, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, the culmination of John F. Kennedy’s challenge to land a man on the moon before the decade was out. Outrageous! Can’t be done! It was fake!

It was no fake, but the culmination of a colossal goal, fraught with , among other things, the deaths of three astronauts, inventing technology that didn’t exist, and fighting through endless battles with committees, ne’er do wells, skeptics, a sometimes unwilling congress, and the divisive strife of an unpopular war.

To say America and the world stepped out of its comfort zone is an understatement. We transformed whole cities, built massive launch and support facilities where none existed. Consider these innovations NASA headed up:

Light emitting diodes
Infrared thermometers
Artificial Limbs
Anti-icing systems for airplanes
Firefighting Wearables
Improved kidney dialysis
Dry Lubricants
Memory foam for beds
Cooling Suits
And my favorite, Tang. (Actually, the NASA used the product, and is widely credited for boosting its sales.)

But this is about comfort zones, and moving away from them. If we as a nation had not moved boldly out of our collective comfort zone of the early 1960’s, we might never have achieved such a remarkable achievement as walking on the moon. It’s is easy to stay in them, they are, after all, comfortable. But we were never meant to stay in our cozy comfortable corners, just as ships were not built to stay in port; they were made for bold adventure, profitable commerce, and national protection.

Have you launched your Apollo to the moon? Do you even have a goal worthy enough and so outrageous that it will fail unless God is behind it? Well then, good for you! If not, how about taking at least a “one small step” by sharing Jesus without fear to that person who’s been on your mind? After all, we weren’t left here after our being made Christians by God to stay in our comfort zones.