Of course, reckless behavior (whether in faith or action) is almost equally as dangerous. Understand that I am not insinuating that we, in essence, board the Titanic without life boats, cross our fingers, and hope that it won't sink. Rather, I am encouraging us towards a faithful trust that reflects a willingness to abandon the world's view of risk in favor of God's promises. Extending beyond our zones of comfort (whether financially, relationally, spiritually...whatever) allows us to engage in true relationship with God.
Now, I assure you that I am not the most staunch John Piper supporter in the world. I have odds with a lot of what he says. Here, though, I think he is right on...
There is a great biblical legacy of loving risk-takers. Joab, facing the Syrians on one side and the Ammonites on the other, said to his brother Abishai, "Let us be courageous for our people . . . and may the LORD do what seems good to him" (2 Samuel 10:12). Esther broke the royal law to save her people and said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Shadrach and his comrades refused to bow down to the king's idol and said, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us . . . But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods" (Daniel 3:16-18). And when the Holy Spirit told Paul that in every city imprisonment and afflictions await him, he said, "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course" (Acts 20:24).
There is something to be said for embracing an atmosphere in which self-reliance is nearly impossible.
-- Brimas
1 comment:
The idea of risk brings up an important question: what exactly is faith? As soon as we make faith just belief in some idea, it is easy for us to divorce risk from it. But what if faith is actually something much more than believing a set of ideas?
"Faith is not a series of propositions which are either believed or not believed. It is instead that trust in God which leads one to follow him in whatever situation one may find himself, a trust which waits on the Lord, even in times when one is fearful for his life." - G. Erenst Wright
"Biblical faith is radical trust in God--even when one is afraid for one's life--that is lived as commitment to the covenant with Yahweh." - Thomas H. Groome
If we think of faith in this way--as radical trust in Yahweh--I think risk takes care of itself. Faith in God is inherently a risk, at least in worldly terms. But paradoxically, maybe it takes faith to realize that it was never a risk at all.
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