When it comes to Jesus Christ and His church, there is an element that we need to examine a little closer than usual.
Because of the nature of salvation, we definitely can know that when we die we will always be with the Lord. In this area of our lives there is no risk. Jesus took that all upon Himself.
Now let’s talk a little about what risk in general is, and then we will apply it to our relationship with Christ and one another.
Risk, in a nutshell, is partaking in something that gives us absolutely no guarantee. Yet, the prize at the end, if we reach it, makes the journey and potential temporary failure worth it.
We think of Abraham and how he believed what God had told him; yet he saw these things far off into the future. He knew that even though he believed, he would never see the city of God while he was on the earth. Yet he responded in faith and walked the physical land that God had promised him.
Did Abraham have any guarantees in his lifetime? Absolutely none. All he knew is that he was promised an heir that would continue on his natural lineage and also an heir that would continue on the spiritual lineage.
David also in being anointed king, waited and did nothing to bring about what he knew was what God had said he was to be. In faith he waited upon the Lord and eventually received his promise from God.
While he was going through all of his struggles he had no guarantee except what God had told him. Yet amidst all of this he hungered to build the house of God.
This is the attitude and way of life that we must be willing to live. Yes we know that God is building his people into something after His own heart. We know that the city that Abraham saw began with the physical coming of Jesus. Yet Jesus, other than a few close followers, never saw the fulness of His eternal purpose worked out while He was on the earth.
He had no guarantee while He was alive that all of this would happen. Yet He also saw the end afar off and rejoiced over it.
So what do I mean about there being no guarantee. From what I have been writing there seems to be complete guarantee about where things will end up.
The key is to look at it from the point of view of our time we are on the earth. In this we have no guarantee of how far things will go or what will be formed of the purpose of God within us.
This is by Christ’s design. Just like we are told that the Old Testament saints weren’t complete without us, so it is from generation to generation. We are to be wise to what Christ is doing in our generation and be faithful in it. Then we are to pass it to faithful ones of the next generation to keep things growing.
The reason why this is, is to show all of us that we can’t make it without one another. We stand on the shoulders of giants of the faith that have lived throughout the centuries. We are all here because they were there. It will take the entire span of time that is allotted us by the Father to bring things to the fulfillment He wants.
Knowing this should be humbling and take a huge burden off of us. We only have to serve God in our generation; we can do no more than that. From this we can feel released and enjoy the simplicity of our devotion to Christ as we walk deeper and deeper into Him.
So why talk about risk? Again, we have no guarantee of how far we will go in our lifetimes. We are to simply walk in faith, hope, and love in relationship to our God, fellowshipping with Him and each other in spirit and truth.
As we forsake the systems that have been made throughout the centuries and join ourselves to one another outside of these props and crutches, we have no guarantee of how things will work out in our lifetimes. That can be scary and exhilarating at the same time.
What an opportunity to think that we can live a life pleasing to God and yet have no inkling of where things will end up at the conclusion of our life on this earth. Whether you know it or not, it is risk.
But what a risk that we can ‘waste’ our lives for something that has eternal implications. Now that is something worth pursuing.
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