James Duff February 14th 2016 ~ Risk Taking

I’m often afraid of what people think of me, although the older I get the more I feel this fear diminishes, but I doubt it will ever fully leave me. The reason for this is bound up in my understanding of my identity. I think we all struggle at different stages with our identity and where we get it. I believe this is the big reason why we can find mission/evangelism so difficult. If people don’t agree with us, like us or reject us, we can become very concerned about what they may be thinking of us.Something I remember my father saying is: ‘The biggest risk in life is to take no risk at all.’ Some people are huge risk-takers, while others tend to be far more conservative. Please don’t think that being a ‘risk-taker’ is somehow the best way to live your life. God designs us all uniquely. The above saying did get me thinking about the life of Jesus though: was he a risk-taker? As I read the gospels I see Jesus risking friendships and relationships all the time as he encourages and challenges people to follow him. Here is a challenge for us: followers of Jesus are called to be risk-takers. He calls us to risk much, which may sometimes result in being hated or even disowned by our own families for his sake. He does encourage us though, stating he will be with us to the very end of the age and that the Holy Spirit, very God, indwells us.Paul’s ministry was so risky that he was thrown in jail. He writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” This is risky, for our faith can often oppose worldly wisdom. I yearn for us to continue to grow the risky culture of mission and evangelism at St Philips. It is risky because we’re confronting the prevailing culture. Feeding the poor, praying together, being part of missional communities, serving morning tea, having Friday youth groups are some examples of social choices that oppose a culture that tells us to only look after our own backyard and ourselves. To obey Christ often entails disregarding what people might think of us. For us to risk having people reject us or even persecute us because of our faith is frightening but not hopeless or impossible.Once again this Lent season we walk towards Good Friday and remember Jesus’ atoning death for our sin and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. These events promise us reconciliation with God and eternal life for all who turn to him in faith. Nearly everyone, even those closest to Jesus, rejected him but he stayed true to his mission to usher in the kingdom of God. He continues to lead the kingdom movement, using us to make his disciples.Alpha is coming up where people are encouraged to explore the Christian faith in a safe non-judgmental environment. Alpha prayer cards available today are to encourage us to write down a person’s name we can be praying to invite. There’s a risk that people might say no to our invitation; they may even think we are a bit weird. Another risk is that we don’t invite or don’t pray for someone to come along. (Now that’s a thought but it would require another musing.) Go on, take the risk; write down a friend, family member or work colleague’s name and start praying.God blessJames