Take a Risk in Faith

I look at all these scriptures of women and men who took the risk for their faith to share it with someone else. And I look at the results of that risk. I see testimonies, over and over again, of the one moment when someone took the risk to share the gospel, and the results that became exponential from it. 

And then I look at the church as it is today. The protestant church, the rural church, the Catholic church, the urban church—and I see us floundering. We have forgotten how to share the gospel story, but I think—and perhaps most importantly—we’ve forgotten the urgency in sharing that message. 

We all love this church. That’s a given. We wouldn’t be coming back here week after week, year after year, if we didn’t love this church. But loving the church and loving God just is not enough. We’re forgetting this third all-important element in being a Christian. 

We have to love the world. 

When we love the world, we are driven outward and into the community and into the city, and into the state, the country, and the world. We’re driven out for Jesus. When we love the world so much that it hurts, we will be compelled to show them the love that we have found here, the beauty in a church family, the support we receive, the love we find, the friends we make. 

When we love the world, we stop worrying about the order of the worship service, or what people are wearing, or how much money they’re putting in the offering plate. We start seeing and experiencing the ab-solute wonder that comes with someone giving their live to Jesus and becoming a part of this family—the family of God. 

This doesn’t happen overnight for us. It’s a long change and transition we have to make. I ask that this month, you start praying for those you think may need this community and what we can offer them. Pray for them. And then pray for yourself, to make that first step toward inviting them to church, but more so inviting them into this family and this community. 

If we love our church, then we want it to grow. Not only in numbers, but in risk-taking faith, faith that can and will move mountains.