risk

For many years my favorite board game was Risk and in high school my friends and I took it to a different level. We took a full sized map of the world and mounted it on foam core, had navies, air forces and armies. The idea was to build up the forces big enough to conquer neighboring countries and expand our borders. We had all night Risk parties all on the quest for world domination. They were good times for sure.

Little did I know that the idea of risk, to lay it all on the line with the possibility of absolute failure, would be something God would require of me as a way of life. We face judgment and condemnation from society and harassment from the police for just being down on the street with the homeless, the addicts, the alcoholics and the prostitutes. Every day we lay it all on the line, in the hopes of advancing God's kingdom.

　

At one point, Jesus had escaped the clutches of the Pharisees who wanted to stone him for blasphemy. He left Jerusalem and traveled around the countryside healing the sick and teaching. He then started talking about going back to Jerusalem, but, the disciples were resistant, except Thomas, in John 11:16 it says: Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Now, I don't know if he said it sarcastically or not, regardless, that's what they did, they got up and followed Jesus back to Jerusalem where he was ultimately executed.

It seems a small amount of risk that we take compared to what Jesus did and what's funny is he took that risk for you and me. As Jesus' representatives here on earth today, we should be ready to jump up and go to Jerusalem, into the heart of the city where the scum of the earth cry out for help, risking all to reach them, despite the greater society's rules against such compassion.

Yesterday, as Joel and I were giving pizza to some guys, they were in absolute shock that we even stopped and talked to them. They stated they had never seen any Christians or churches ever do that before, that usually they were ignored by people or harassed by authorities. We were able to pray for one of them (after being ran off from a parking lot we were all standing in). By the time we left, they were all thanking God.

As we continue risking all, please pray that the seeds we sow grow deep roots and that we win the hearts of the community and ultimately turn South Florida up-side-down.