The Rewards of Spiritual Risk Taking

The Rewards of Spiritual Risk Taking <div>When we take a risk, we’re stretching /beyond what we think are our limits /in order to reach for a goal. </div><div>Inevitably, that involves [overcoming some sort of fear] — fear of the unknown, of physical harm, of failure, </div><div>of humiliation, even of success. And it involves adventure.</div> When I was in college, a friend often lent me his Kawasaki motorcycle, which was primarily designed for off-road use. When I’d ride thirty miles /an hour /down the smooth residential streets /toward campus, it was safe but boring. Wind whipped my hair but my heart didn’t quiver. However, when I’d go /zipping off the road, through tall weeds, down twisting dirt trails, dodging trees and bushes, around boulders and up steep inclines — places //where I was facing some risk — that was exciting. <div>The same could be said /for living a life of faith. It’s when we overcome our fears and take spiritual risks //that we really experience the adventure of Christianity. Jesus said, in effect, that [those //who risk their whole life for him] will find it, but [those //who hang on to their life] — those who shrink back from risk — will be the losers.</div><div> </div><div>* in effect. You add in effect to a statement or opinion that is not precisely accurate, </div><div>                  but which you feel is a reasonable description or summary of a particular situation.</div> <div>After all, faith and risk are intertwined. As we stretch our faith — as we increasingly follow Christ /even when his wisdom collides /head-on /with the thinking of our culture — we’re taking calculated risks based on our conviction //that God can be trusted.</div><div> </div><div>* Head-on 형/부 - with the head or front making the initial contact.</div><div>           부사; collides /head-on, 형용사 head-on collision </div> When we follow God’s teaching /on honesty /despite our fear //that we’ll pay a price, when we ask God to open doors for us to make a difference in the lives of others /despite our fear of the unknown, when we talk to someone about God /despite our fear of embarrassment, when we follow the Holy Spirit’s nudgings /despite our hesitancies — those are spiritual risks. Those are the times //when we leave the boring residential street /for the thrill of the unmarked trails. And we risk most /when we pray. As a skeptic, I used to think that prayer was an empty exercise for weak-willed people //who babbled /into their folded hands /because they were afraid /to take any action on their own. Boy, was I wrong! <div>When we come /to the realization //that there’s actually someone /on the receiving end of our prayers </div><div>— an omnipotent someone //who wants us to grow and mature and develop and learn and become more and more like Jesus — then prayer becomes a great adventure. Then we’re blazing new trails. Then our heart quivers.</div><div> </div><div>* to grow and (to) mature and (to) develop and (to) learn and (to) become</div><div>* blaze; to lead in forming or finding (a new method, course, etc.): </div><div>        His research in rocketry blazed the way for space travel. </div> <div>Forward this email to your friends, or invite them to subscribe to receive Investigating Faith with Lee Strobel.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>