Definition of Risk:
Risk is "an action that exposes you to the possibility of loss or injury." This could be the loss of money, reputation, possessions, health, and even life (among many other things).
Risk exists because we are finite and do not exhaustively know the future. Only God can exist without risk. Living a life free of risk is impossible because living a life sure of the future is impossible. So the question is not whether one should take risks, but rather, for what or who these risks are taken.
The Who: What is Christian Risk?
For the Christian, Jesus has taken away the ultimate risk by securing our eternal status before God the Father. Christ died for the sinner, and those that trust in him receive a full and eternal life. Paul writes of this in his letter to the Corinthians:
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor. 5:15).
With the ultimate risk removed, Paul writes that the believer is empowered to live a selfless life for Jesus. Christians no longer live "for themselves," and as a result, necessary risk-taking is no longer for selfish gain. The response to what Jesus did on the cross should be giving every area of one's life to Him, for Jesus is one worthy of taking risks.
Paul summarizes this empowered Christian living a courageous life of risk for Jesus in his letter to the Philippians: "It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:20-21).
The What: Mission of God:
Paul makes it clear in 2 Corinthians 5 that Christians should live selfless lives in response to what Jesus did on the cross, but he doesn't stop there. God gives Christians a mission. Paul writes:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).
God is making his appeal through Christians. Followers of Jesus are ambassadors for the kingdom of God, and God desires to make His name great to the very ends of the earth. "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Hab 2:14).
Jesus makes this mission clear before his ascension into heaven with a charge to the disciples: "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" (Matthew 28:18-20).
God's mission is to reconcile a people to Himself for the glory of His name, to the very ends of the earth. And He will accomplish this mission through Christians willing to take risks, living selfless lives for Jesus in response to what he did on the cross.
The Right and Wrong Reasons for Risk
Knowing and understanding the character of God is crucial in any discussion on risk. God is all-knowing and all-powerful, God is love, and He is good. One of the dangers of calling Christians to take risks is that they could take risks for the wrong reasons. The loving and all-powerful God of the universe must remain at the center. Knowing God empowers a childlike faith in God. And faith in God empowers faith in his call. God does not call everyone to risk their lives on the mission field. However, He does call every Christ-follower to a childlike faith that leads to selfless risk-taking for His glory and His mission.
Reliant agrees that “the power and the motive behind taking risks for the cause of God is not heroism, or the lust for adventure, or the courage of self-reliance, or the need to earn God’s good will, but rather in the all-providing, all-ruling, all-satisfying Son of God, Jesus Christ.”
A lack of faith in God will inevitably lead to taking risks for the wrong reasons, and these are not the types of risk that Reliant endorses.
The strength to risk losing life in this world is faith in the promise that he who loses his life in this world will save it for the age to come. This is very different from heroism and self-reliance. When we risk losing face or money or life because we believe God will always help us and use our loss, in the end, to make us more glad in his glory, then it’s not we who get the praise because of our courage; it’s God who gets the praise because of his care. In this way, risk reflects God’s value, not our valor.
Yes and amen. Christian risk should always reflect God’s value and his love. God’s call to the international worker should always lead to his glory. For this, and only this, risk is right.
