Matthew 16:24,25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Our world loves safety. Our newspapers are full of reports warning us about risks – this food will increase your cholesterol, that country is too dangerous to visit, this new car is safer than that one. We are told what to eat, what to wear, how often to exercise, where to go on holiday – and all with the aim of reducing risk. Avoid bacon. Eat goji berries. Don’t go to Afghanistan. Wear goggles before playing conkers. Maybe we should simply never leave the house at all.
The problem for us Christians is that authentic discipleship flies in the face of safety. Following God means that we follow in the footsteps of men who risked everything in his name – Joseph, who ended up in jail; Gideon, who took on an army of thousands with just a few hundred soldiers; John the Baptist, who got his head cut off; the apostle Paul, who suffered repeatedly. Tradition tells us that only one apostle, John, died peacefully. As the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die.” And he should know; Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis.
When we play it safe we leave little room for God to act. Without risk we don’t need to have faith, and without faith then what is our relationship with God? But when we step out in faith, trusting that God is worthy of any sacrifice we might make, then God has a habit of showing up. Following Jesus means putting everything – absolutely everything – on the line.
Our world loves safety. Following Jesus calls for risk. What will it be?
Lord, I choose to take a risk for you today. Amen!
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