Take Risks

John 15:4: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the Vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

“Be careful.”

An overused phrase that I’ve recently begun to wrestle with in my own life.

I'm struggling to find Jesus telling his disciples in conversation (if ever He says it) to “be careful.” Rather I find Him demanding the opposite, “Take great risks for my name!”

It seems everything in my life is too easily becoming about safety and being comfortable.

The question that I have been wrestling with this week after reading John 15:4 is: Doesn’t bearing more fruit require greater risk? Isn’t it that the more deeply we abide in the Vine, the more we pursue Jesus, the more He prunes us, the more fruit we bear, the GREATER the risks we will be asked to take?

Isn’t abiding deeply in the Vine and letting Jesus go to the deepest and darkest places of our hearts for surgery outright dangerous? Isn’t our relationship with Him the most beautiful, greatest, “safest”, risk we will ever take?

Disclaimer:

I’m not saying we in any way forsake wisdom in the process of taking risks. I am NOT saying that taking risks means to “follow your heart” or pursue sin! I’m not saying we should be stupid and claim the name of risk taking and Jesus.

But, I am saying that maybe this phrase “be careful” and “be safe” needs to be reconsidered.

Consider the following from the Apostle Paul:

“And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that in every city that imprisonment and affliction await me. BUT I DO NOT COUNT MY LIFE OF ANY VALUE not as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course…” (Acts 20:22-24)

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea…danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers…” (2 Corinthians 11)

I think Paul must have missed the memo about being careful.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be WISE as serpents and innocent as doves. …they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues…and you will be hate by all for my name’s sake.” (Matthew 10)

Interestingly, I’m not seeing anything about being safe or comfortable in the words of Jesus either.

If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full. This is not a book about how to avoid a wounded life, but how to avoid a wasted life. Some of you will die in the service of Christ. That will not be a tragedy. Treasuring life above Christ is a tragedy.” John Piper

A good friend of mine started telling me “Take risks Gerb.” I wish I remembered that more often.

I need to start taking some more risks.

Some risks at loving people. With the gospel. In sacrificing. In prayer. In worship. With my time.

And yes, my heart might get broken in the process. And the journey will most likely NOT be safe or comfortable. In fact, there’s a very good chance it must end just like Paul’s.

So why take risks? What’s the benefit? What’s the purpose?

John 15:8 “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

The greater risk I take in Jesus, the more of Jesus I get. The more of Jesus I get, the more fruit I bear, and the Father is glorified. The more fruit, the more glory, the more joy.

It’s not (as I used to struggle with thinking) Jesus standing there saying, “Come take risks with me and I’m going to rip your guts out and leave you dying on the road.”

No, but rather ….

“Come, come take risks with Me. Come walk and abide deeply in Me. Let me do an incredibly painful but BEAUTIFUL work in your heart that when all is said and done is going to be worth every second of surgery. Come, lose yourself and find Me. Find me for all that I am. Your good shepherd, your living water, your bread of life, your wine, the way and truth and LIFE. Come take risks with Me and find my goodness and mercy in ways you never will if you stay safe and comfortable. Come join me in bringing my glory to the ends of the earth. The darkest streets, dangerous ghettos, broken small towns, empty suburban’s, lifeless slums, and searching campuses. Come join with Me in becoming a part of the greatest story ever told to mankind.”

And so I would ask, please don’t tell me to “be safe” but rather “take some risks for Jesus today.”

And may my life be someday said to be that of those in Acts 15:26:

“Men who risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Weight of Eternity

I love the rare afternoons like this here in Chicago. A gentle rain falls from the darkening skies surrounding the city, aroma’s of a hot pumpkin spice latte fill the air, the house is quiet, and I don’t have anywhere to be in the next few hours. A small unexpected gift of time to sit here and meditate on the Word, do some writing, and just think. It would seem life has forced me to do a lot of that this past week.

A few days ago, I sat at the funeral of a beautiful, 13 year old girl who was killed last week.

In that I watched a lot of middle school students walk through a line and say goodbye to their classmate. The previous night I had sat and just listened to a room full of junior high girls who shared memories and wept over the loss of a good friend. Life became a lot heavier this week.

I’m not sure I’ll really understand something like this.

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In my time in the Word, I have slowly been making my way through the book of John. I was struck this last week with the sudden transition from the miracles in the first 11 chapters, to finding Jesus in His final Passover Week (John 12&13). As He comes into Jerusalem and is met with shouts and praises from the people, you find only a few verses later Jesus sitting down at his last meal with the disciples.

Vs. 3“And Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God….”

I love that Jesus had all things in His hands. I love the truth that Jesus knew all things before time even began. I love the truth that the Cross was such a choice of Jesus Himself, that none of this was a surprise to Him, and that nothing was out of His control. No one could take His life from Him. No one could thwart His plans or His purpose for this event.

Not even John 13:2, “During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him….”

Knowing exactly what Judas was about to do to Him, knowing exactly what Peter would say, knowing exactly how all of these men in the room with Him, would in the moment of decision, flee from Him….

In this moment, the very Creator of all things…..

“Rose from supper.”

“He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

Then…..He poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet….”

The very hands that had knit them together in their mother’s wombs were washing their feet. The very hands that would soon be covered in blood and pierced by nails- these hands were gently, slowly, washing the dirt away. The very hands that would be bound and shackled, were washing the feet of even the enemy that would betray and sell Him?

Silence must have filled the room as the Word that had become flesh knelt down in front of each of the disciples.

“Lord, you’re going to wash my feet?” –Peter

“What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” – Jesus

The tension that arises in Peter, arises in my own heart.

“Not this Lord. Not this kind of work. You shouldn’t be doing this. This is for the slaves, for those underneath you. You shouldn’t have to love like this. Not, like this.”

And gently, Jesus loves Peter enough to tell him how badly his feet need to be washed.

All filled with grace and truth, He reminds Peter once again how badly he needs his sins washed away.

And no one else can do that for Peter. Only Jesus.

And this is the only way. The cross is the only way. The washing by the blood is the only way for Peter to be made clean. For Peter to be healed and whole.

“Not yet, but soon you’re going to get this Peter. Soon you’re going to understand what all of this means.” – Jesus

Even this disciple who had walked with Jesus personally for 3 years needed his feet to be washed.

Even this disciple needed to understand his need for the blood of Jesus.

And as both a beautiful act of humility and service, more importantly Jesus signified to the 12 in the room that He had come, come to wash away their sins.

He had come to redeem them.

I need my feet to be washed.

Cheyenne needed her feet to be washed.

Every person sitting at that funeral looking death in the face needed their feet to be washed.

All of my roommates, all of my students need their feet to be washed.

There is not one, no not one who could stand as Jesus kneels down to wash them and say, “I don’t need that. I don’t need You.”

That has been the cry of my heart this week. That we would understand first in our own hearts how badly we need the gospel, and that all others would come to recognize their need as well.

Because it’s when you look at death so closely that you get this heavy weight of eternity that just aches inside of you. And you hope beyond hope, that those you love comprehend the glories of the gospel and invite Jesus to wash their feet.

Because my friend, death is coming for all of us.

In light of eternity, we’ll be there standing there in about 10 minutes.

And in that moment when I am flat on my face in front of the throne of unspeakable glory and the presence of Jesus Christ Himself, the only thing that will matter….

Yes, the only thing that will matter…

Did I let Him wash me clean by His blood?

I found the love of Jesus in these verses so incredibly beautiful and profound. And it forced me to stand in the weight of eternity and turn my eyes to the glory of the gospel.

May it do the same for you.