Risk Worth Taking

I recently read John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life and was challenged.  It is easy to go through life being busy but not necessarily with things that count for eternity.  As a Christian, I know that I am called to walk by faith.  Faith is demonstrated through obedience to God without understanding the particulars of His plan from start to finish.  Abraham was called to leave his family and country and go to the land God would show him.  Without being able to tell anyone his goal destination on this side of heaven, Abraham trusted God and went.  Because God is worthy of trust and capable to act beyond the imaginations of my limited intellect, I am called to take the next step as God directs.  It is a conscious act of relying upon the character and ability of God to do what I cannot predict.  His ways are higher than my ways, and faith releases God to do His wonders.

Since Christians are called to walk by faith and absolute trust in God, the denying of the flesh to obey God will make my flesh uncomfortable.  The flesh is conditioned to walk by sight, not by faith.  The path of following Jesus Christ does not always appear to the eyes to be safe or even desirable.  But since Christ is both the means and the substance of my life, He is always to be treasured above all.  In his book, Piper voiced some excellent observations concerning the aspect of risk in following Christ.  He writes:  "Why is there such a thing as risk?  Because there is such a thing as ignorance.  If there were no ignorance there would be no risk.  Risk is possible because we don't know how things will turn out.  This means that God can take no risks." (Piper, Kindle edition, pg. 100)  God can take no risks, and any apparent "risk" from a worldly perspective a Christian takes by faith in God is simply a mirage.  The fact that I see risk is proof of my ignorance.  I embrace the fact of my ignorance that I might rest in God's wisdom!

You've probably seen the ads on television for investment firms who provide historical data and statistics to aid people in selling and trading stocks.  Based upon evidence, people invest money where there is the probability of lowest risk and highest yield.  Often the higher the risk, the higher the potential yield or loss.  When setting up investments, financial advisers recommend that investors diversify so all the money is not committed to a single fund.  The theory is while one fund may lose money another will remain stable, and the conservative funds will slowly build.  But Jesus tells us we cannot diversify our faith in this way.  We cannot put some of our faith in our business, a little in our savings and properties, and invest our faith in Him when it is time to pay the bills and taxes.  No, we must put all our faith in Him alone.  The following quote is often attributed to Jim Elliot:  "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."  Jim Elliot risked his life to share the Gospel to unreached people in Ecuador and he was killed in the mission field by Waodani warriors.  But it was not a risk to follow Jesus on that path of the cross.  In dying a Christian gains what he cannot lose:  a glorious entry into eternal life with Christ, where we shall worship, glorify, and serve Him forever.

When we follow Christ in faith, inevitably we will be faced with what appears to be risk.  If there is no risk in our Christian experience, then we must seriously consider if we have experienced Christ!  God cannot risk because He knows all things.  This is not an invitation to be foolhardy or cavalier, assuming God will come to our rescue when we make foolish decisions because of pride.  But if God directs you to take a step of faith, there is no risk in obedience.  So take that step, believer!  God is able to accomplish all that concerns you today!