The value of risk …

If you really want to live your life to the full, there will be a lot of risks to take.

That’s God’s idea!

We so often want every possible answer from God before we will be budged to move, much less take a single step. It’s true God has a plan for each of us, one He crafted before He ever made us. And it’s true we can look to scripture for the guidance we must have to follow Christ along the Way; and the Bible reveals truths we need today, as well as a big picture of life in this world up to the return of Christ.

But what God hasn’t given us in writing, or any other way, are all the details and decisions you and I must face and make each day.

That’s on purpose.

God has designed into our lives the need to calculate risks, to measure moments, for a key reason:

Risk is an impetus to live by, and act on, our faith in God.

If everything was known, and everything was sure, when we would look to or rely on God?

In the latter part of Luke 14, Jesus addresses in extremely blunt terms the cost of being His disciple. In describing that cost, He uses two examples of the need to make calculated risks in our lives …

“… For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away,” Luke 14:28b-32.

These examples used by Jesus demonstrate that God made us as very capable people, and that He wants us to use our minds, our intellects, our imaginations in what we do in life, and to be so engaged in living that we must take risks — calculated ones — but risks nonetheless.

And what do risks motivate?

Prayer!

Our NOT being omniscient (all-knowing) like God keeps us continually coming back to Him to fill in all the parts of life we don’t know, can’t see, and don’t understand … and that’s a lot of life! So, then, God didn’t create us to be independent of Him, but dependent. Capable, yes, but still reliant on who He is, and still very much in need of direction and wisdom from Him. We can dream great dreams, think big thoughts, and be willing to take on great adventures, but we still need God’s Word to shine the light on where to take the very first step …

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path,” Psalm 119:105.

When we see the value and need of coupling to every risk we calculate our turning to God in prayer before any decisions are made, we see how risks are an impetus to keep our eyes on Jesus, our faith and trust in God.

This lesson in taking calculated risks is sandwiched in-between Jesus defining the costs of being a real disciple of His. He first says …

“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ‘If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison — your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple,” Luke 14:25-27.

Jesus then shares the two examples about calculating risks, and then adds …

“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” Luke 14:34-35.

Just as salt is useless without its flavor, so are the claims of those who call themselves Christians but are unwilling to actually follow and obey Jesus. So Jesus challenges His audience to look at the real cost of following Him, and calculate that risk to their lives.

What are you willing to risk your life for?

Last August, Joshua Fechter reported in mysanantonio.com the story about Randall Lance Hughes, 48, who was tazed by Waco police after drawing a knife. When the tazer had no affect, the Waco Police Department wrote in a Facebook post, “Our officers were forced to discharge their weapons in defense of their lives.”

What was so important that Mr. Lance was willing to face down the police? Unless you happen to be a Texan, the answer might seem a bit strange to you. He was stealing a brisket! With the rising price of meat, a black market for brisket has emerged in Texas. Thefts have been reported in 19 H-E-B food stores, and thieves are selling the stolen briskets to local barbecue vendors.

One blogger wrote in response to the police incident, “To all you out-of-state invaders: This is Texas where we take our brisket seriously, stealing it is akin to stealing cattle. I propose a law to make BBQ theft punishable by public hanging, of course it should be at 1:00 PM, after a BBQ plate lunch is provided to the crowd.”

Apparently, Hughes was willing to risk it all for brisket!

What are you willing to risk your life for?

Jesus tells us to be His disciples, we’ll have to give Him our whole lives! We’ll have to risk the value of every one and every thing in life on the fact that making Him pre-eminent — in first place, above all — is the best decision we can make. To risk that is an impetus to step out in faith and actually live that way.

Is that what you have done?

Scotty