Grace and Peace

Have you ever considered how consumed our culture has become with the issue of safety?  We are constantly warned about our risky behavior--from our eating habits to our driving habits to environmental issues--we want to play it safe.  Every morning the newscasts and talk shows tell us what we should fear and also tell us how to play it safe.  We have weather radar with marvelous technology that can predict and warn us about hurricanes and tornadoes.  Why all this effort?  Because people are interested in being safe. 

However, risk is part of life and especially a part of our life in Christ.  As a friend recently said, “No one said following Jesus would be easy.” Even Jesus warned us about the risks of following Him, "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also (John 15:20 NIV)."

What would you say about a group of believers that moved their place of worship out of suburban safety and into a neighborhood plagued by drug abuse and burglaries because they were burden over the people there who were separated from God?  These believers did this not as an outreach (like some hobby), but they moved everything down there! They take it for granted that their building will be broken into and that their stuff might be stolen. Perhaps some of them may even be assaulted and robbed as they travel in and out of the neighborhood in their quest to follow Jesus.  Would you consider them foolish or bad stewards? Would you call those believers fanatics? Why do they take the risk?

Wherever these risky Christians might go, they seem to be playing by a different set of rules than most American believers.  Yet, I suggest that they are simply taking their calling seriously. When we follow Jesus Christ, we have different priorities that may take us in different directions than the prevailing wisdom of our time.

God is calling us to take some risks, not risk for the sake of being risky, but for the sake of the gospel.  Let me suggest three areas where we can start:

1. We can risk living and doing life together.  We live in a very individualized age where each one tends to look to their own interests (and maybe those of their family).  Living for others takes us out of our comfort zone.  It is easier to ignore our neighbor than talk to them.  It is easier to mind our own business than ask a co-worker what is wrong (when we can see the evident pain in their eyes).  We would be much more effective at sharing our faith if we would simply take time to be kind to people around us and talk to them.  That way we can build bridges between our lost neighbors and the Savior.  We can show them Christ in us and help them know Him.
2. We can risk being generous.  It is risky to share our resources with one another and with our community without expecting a return on our investment.  Everything that is worldly and fleshly within us tells us to hang onto what we have.  We go to great lengths to protect our wealth and our stuff, yet we are most like our God when we give.  Remember, "God so loved He gave (John 3:16)." We can risk being generous with our wealth and with our love.
3. We can risk being different.  The Christians of the first century were ridiculed and scorned by the society around them. They were called incestuous, cannibalistic, and atheistic (they only believed in one God not the many gods of Rome).  They didn’t overcome society's misunderstanding and enmity by standing up for their rights, initiating lawsuits, or wielding their political power.  They also didn’t give up and say, "Well, we can't beat them so we might as well just join them" thus conforming to the expectations of a dying culture.  instead they overcame by kneeling in prayer in the arenas where they were slaughtered.  They lived their life for Jesus fearlessly and suffered persecution willingly for the sake of the gospel.