I see the need for most of these things, but we have become people who focus on minimizing risk everywhere we see it. We love the illusion of danger but not the real thing. We want Jesus to be the same way: all reward, no risk. We don’t give ourselves fully to Him because we are afraid He will send us to China or ask us to become poor. We want the illusion of faith, as long as we are safe. But walking with God is not a no-risk proposition; it is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Risk is inherent in the life of faith.
We are seldom afraid of opposition that is much smaller than we are. When we keep our challenges manageable, we not only manage our fear of risk but also squelch our faith. When God calls us to something, His call invokes both faith and fear. It should. God always summons us to something bigger than ourselves. He loves waiting until all other hope has failed and our human resources are exhausted. When He calls us to battle, the opposition will always be greater than the strength we have. When the odds are in our favor, we may be tempted to give the credit to ourselves. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (NIV).
This is why God allowed the Israelites to be trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. This is why He asked Gideon, the weakest member of the weakest tribe, to whittle his army down from 30,000 to 300 so that God could receive the glory. This is why God sometimes allows us to get in so far over our heads that only He can save us. We are promised victory, not tranquility.
We have a part to play in this life of risk and faith. Jesus calls us beyond our comfort level to step into obedience and watch God do great and might things. We say to God, “Show me and I’ll believe.” Instead, God says to us, “Believe, and I’ll show you.” This is the life of following Jesus Christ. God isn’t looking for a bunch of I-should-do-this-because-that’s-what-good-Christians-do kind of people. He is looking for I-wouldn’t-miss-thisfor-the-world kind of people.
So what is the gospel? It certainly is the good news about Jesus reconciling everything to God through His sacrifice. It certainly is the joy of being forgiven and receiving a new identity. It certainly means spending forever in God’s presence.
But it most certainly does not mean a life without risk or danger. The life of faith solves many problems but introduces new (and more difficult) ones. It answers many questions but leads to many more. It forces us to trust the wild and dangerous God who cannot be boxed into our theologies, language, or experience. Far too many new followers of Jesus have had their faith shipwrecked because they were sold the lie that life with Jesus is trouble free.
This, too, is the invitation of Jesus: to abandon ourselves to Him with no hope that we’ll be able to control or manage Him. He will sustain us; the victory is ours because it is His, and yet the battle still rages. We must fight for the life He offers. Jesus doesn’t want a blind, naïve commitment from followers who expect only blessings. He was quite clear about the costs of following Him. My request is that we be just as faithful.
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Mike Erre is pastor of teaching at Rock Harbor Church, a 4,000-member congregation in Costa Mesa, California. Mike holds an M.A. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Talbot
School of Theology in California. He is the proud husband of Justina Erre and father of Nathaniel Carl.