Relatively Risk-Free

Can a man’s faith be measured by the amount of risk he takes for the kingdom of God? John Piper told a story that went something like this: “In one of the former Russian republics, a group of children were playing in a field when a land mine exploded, tragically killing several of the kids. One girl survived the initial blast. She was hurt badly by the blast and could not move. She cried for help, for someone to come save her. The problem was that she was lying in a minefield and no one wanted to risk moving into that field to save her.” What would I have done? Jesus said a couple things that when put together make me think the proper action would have been to head into that field. He said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 19.19), and “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28.18). So what do I think the neighborly thing to do would be? Well, that seems obvious, but the key is in the Matthew 28 passage. If I believe Jesus to have “all authority,” then I should proceed with confidence to help the girl. Not with confidence that I will return unharmed with the girl in hand, but confidence that Christ is in control and if I perish this day, then it is under his authority. I don’t know if there is a direct correlation between faith and risk, and in some selfish way I hope there isn’t. Because if there is, my relatively risk-free life is a dead giveaway.

“Show me a place where hope is young and a people who are not afraid to love.” – Aaron Tate