Are You Hedging Your Bets?

"Sometimes we have little joy in knowing Christ because we are hedging our bets. We’re willing to be brave right up to the point where we might be hurt. Our concern is with our own safety. What we forget is that our safety is already established. No one can hurt us. We have already died and been raised with Christ. Who can ultimately harm us now? Often the root of the problem is that we act more like orphans without faith in God’s providence than like sons and daughters who trust their heavenly Father." - Jack Miller

We live in a culture that values safety above all else. Everything has a safety warning or label on it. That new hairdryer...the roller coaster at the amusement park...even the candy bar you may eat, has to warn you to be careful as the candy was made in a facility where nuts were processed.

It is is often with that same posture in which we live out our faith in Christ. We are cautious in following Christ. We dare not to risk. We hold back. The cost and demand seem too great. We hedge our bets. Yet God, who loves us dearly, calls us to risk.

People can hurt us. Yet, God calls us to risk entering into relationships that are often times messy and call us to be vulnerable as we lay open our hearts to each other.

Places can be new and scary. Yet so often God calls to venture outside the areas, places, and situations of familiarity and be willing to risk our comfort.  

Personal peace feels safe and secure. Yet God asks us to put our own agendas, security, and safety on the altar to God and to trust Him. 

God doesn't want you and I to be timid, scared and reluctant, rather He is inviting us to live out the security and safety of being sons and daughter of the King. He is inviting us to do audacious and bold things for Him. He truly wants us to not only have life but have it abundantly.

Orphans hedge bets. Children of God bet our lives on Christ and know confidence even in the difficulty, the pain and the fear of life.

Photo by Paulo Vizeu on Unsplash