Risk

  

On August 7, 1782, George Washington ordered the creation of the first U.S. military decoration, the Purple Heart, awarded for bravery in action. It’s believed that only three men received it during the American Revolution, all of them noncommissioned officers. It was forgotten until its reinstatement in 1932, and since then, it is a highly distinguished medal of honor. Receiving this medal tells everyone that this person is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for someone else, no matter what. Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” He also said, “...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45) While it’s easy to recognize the high value of loving your neighbor even more than yourself (Philippians 2:3-4; Romans 12:3), actually living that out is challenging. In fact, the story of the Bible reveals just how challenging that is for us. Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” A verse that helps to explain Paul’s statement in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Instinctively we realize that those willing to give their life for someone else is a rarity and therefore honorable, and even though we may realize the value of that sacrifice, it still seems to be an action few are willing to take. Sacrifice is risky: “What if my sacrifice is ignored or is relatively meaningless to society?” Jesus describes a scenario of the kind of heart God is looking for in his children. In Matthew 25:14-30, He tells the parable of the talents (each talent is about a 20-year salary). Each of the three servants in the parable received a sum of money based, presumably, on their ability to do something with it. After distributing the money, the master left for a long time. Upon his return, he evaluated the “return on investment” from the servant’s efforts. While the first two doubled their money, the last one did nothing with it. His excuse to his master was, “I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. (25)” The risks involved in multiplying what his master gave him were too great for him. While the master’s response may seem harsh, it should help us realize the urgency from God’s perspective in multiplying, or “making disciples of all nations.” Outreach takes risks (as Jesus modeled in His own ministry). With no risk, there’s no reward. Consider the risks we are willing to take to strengthen, encourage, teach, train, and shape someone’s life right in front of us. Remember the reward we gain for taking risks in doing that is much greater than a medal we put around our neck, but instead it is eternity!