Risky? Really?

Last Sunday, as my pastor preached on taking risks, I watched my husband out of the corner of my eye watching me out of the corner of his.  He looked scared.  Well, scared may be too strong a word ... reservedly panicked ... yes, that might be a better description for the odd look he was trying to mask.  What was he thinking, I wondered.  It didn't take too long for me to find out.

"That sermon was not for you," my dashedly handsome hubby insisted at dinner that afternoon.  "Others need to take risks but you take plenty and I always get to go along for the ride."  I suppose he's right.  About the ride part, not the taking plenty part.  And to be fair to him, my husband is faithful in following God's call to service in the inner city and the young adults and children God has given us to love.  I'm incredibly blessed by a husband who takes a deep breath and then does whatever is necessary as long as He knows God is in it.  That he is married to who he calls his own version of Lucy Ricardo is what gives him angst.

I guess the difference between my husband and me is in the calculation of risk.  His definition of risk is "the chance of something going wrong: the danger that injury, damage, or loss will occur."  Well, if that is the case, then getting out of bed this morning was a risk yet most of us do this every single day.  Driving the Dan Ryan in Chicago during rush hour ... now that's a risk for you.  Of course things are going to "go wrong" every day, but we still opt to go through the day.  Some grumbling more than others about it, but we still get up.

I honestly do not feel the choices we've made up to this point are all that risky.  Yes, we've volunteered in the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, lived in the inner city, and taken people into our hearts and home who had no place else to go.  Yet, it all seems quite reaonsable behavior to me.  Unusual, perhaps ... but why?

Think about this.  When God asks you to do something, where is the risk?  That it might not work out?  Is that even a possibility if God is behind the request?  Yes, God has asked many to follow Him to places or tasks that appeared not to work out ... but is that really so?  How do we know, this side of the curtain, that God's plans were not met even though in our puny way of thinking we do not see success.  The bigger risk, in my mind, is to not follow God where He leads because you will end up somewhere else ... not a godless place because God is omniscient and thus everywhere ... but a place you don't belong doing something you shouldn't be doing; not necessarily because the place or the activity is sinful, but definitely not God-appointed.

All too often American Christians, myself included, think that we must have misread God's calling when we run into difficulties.  And yes, it is possible we've allow our own desires or ambitions or fears to cloud God's still small voice.  But is it not equally possible that American Christians with our "I want it all and I want it now" mentality confuse the meaning of difficulty?  When we storm the gates of hell, is it any surprise that the enemy puts up a fight?

So how do we know if God is calling?  I believe we must be grounded in worship to know for sure.  In Isaiah 6, we see the glory of God in His resplendant holiness, Isaiah falling on his face in light of his sinfulness, Isaiah then cleansed of his sin, God calling for a messenger, Isaiah responding, and finally Isaiah being sent out to serve.  Worship and service.  God called Isaiah to give Israel an unpopular message which was not well received.  There is no question that Isaiah was called despite running into difficulties.

We need to spend sufficient time in worship of God: contemplating who He is, what we are without Him, and who we are within Him.  Then, follow the call which will surely come.  True worship leads to service.  Every single time.  We are to study God's word so we will hear it and do it, not just hear it and know it.

Romans chapters 1 through 11 systematically outlines the need and provision of God's righteousness - God is holy, we are not and God provides the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.  Romans 12 then states, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."  The rest of the chapter and the book of Romans details the call to service.

Worship and service.  In that order but never apart.  Risky?  Can God's ultimate plan go wrong?  Really?

Did Isaiah risk?  Or did Isaiah worship?  Aren't we confusing sacrifice with risk sometimes?  We offer ourselves to God, which is our reasonable service, and then jump back off the altar at the slightest provocation.

If something is reasonable then how is it risky?

Say What?

When eyes glaze over, you've got a problem.  It doesn't matter how passionate you are about what you are sharing if someone does not understand you.

I know a little about not understanding what people say.  I have Ménière's disease which, among other things, causes fluctuating, progressive hearing loss in both of my ears, usually in lower frequencies but in my case, my Ménière's disease is an equal-opportunity frequency discriminator.  Essentially, I have an inability to hear certain tones.  I can hear some people quite clearly; however, others, no matter how loudly they speak, sound like the adults in Charlie Brown cartoons: mwah, mwah, mwah.  This can be particularly frustrating with people who know I have trouble hearing them and still do not make accommodations for my disability.  One person actually told me I needed to work harder at hearing.  Really?  Oh, okay.

However, in kindness, I suppose it can be frustrating for those trying to talk to me when they think they are doing everything possible to be understandable and are not.  Christians can be like that.  We think we are communicating clearly and all others are hearing is mwah, mwah, Jesus, mwah. 

The urban dictionary describes christianese as, "A communicable language within the Christian subculture with words and phrases created, redefined, and / or patened that applies only to the Christian sphere of influence."  Wiktionary states, "The terms, catchphrases and theological jargon used by some Christians, commonly from Christian theology and influenced by popular translations of the Bible."  My favorite definition is on Word Spy which states, "A language or linguistic style that is understood only by, or appeals only to, practicing Christians."

Only appeals to practicing Christians.  Wow.  In a world that so desperately needs to hear about and embrace the love of God, are we speaking a language that someone not only cannot understand but is offputted by the very words we use?  Do they hear, mwah, mwah, mwah?  Or worse, do they hear a touch of arrogance in our words further alienating them from a message they desperately need to hear, whether they realize it or not.  Are we seriously asking them work harder at hearing?

Christian:  I felt like I was really backsliding, so I crucified my old man and put on my new man, and now the fruit of the spirit is evident in my life!
Non-Christian: Uh huh.  Hey, I got to take this call ...

Last year, when some brand-new born-again in our presence Christians joined our home Bible study, the no-longer-wet-behind-the-ears Christians in the group quickly figured out we needed to find new ways to explain eternal truths we hold self-evidant but cannot describe in clear post-modernal language.  We have become fluent in a primary language, which is not a bad thing, but we also need to be bi-lingual.

Seriously think about this.  If you can't explain it, how well do you really know it?

Let the learning begin.