One of the topics that comes up in conversation as we prepare for adventure ministry is “risk”. One of the goals of Adventure Camp is to get the kids to do activities that they perceive as risky. While we always strive to make these activities as safe as possible, we want the campers to feel uncertain about the activities so that they must fight their fears and overcome the challenges they face. Over a number of years, we've seen a number of the young people grow in confidence and willingness to try new things because of the “risky” adventure activities that they have done on camp. For Christians, risk is an important topic as well...
Christians need to be willing to take risks in our personal decisions, in our social interactions and in our use of personal finances in order to be faithful to God and to bring him the glory he deserves. The Bible generally uses the word ”faith” because the risks we take are undergirded by our belief that God desires these actions and he will help and support us as we do them. I think that maybe the word “risk” strikes a better chord these days than “faith” though. It has a grittier, more immediate, emotional impact. Most of us wish to live within our comfort zone, yet God keeps calling us to step out in order to serve him and to show his love to a needy world. There’s an old Steve Camp song that I love. It challenges me to be willing to do all I can for the Lord. The chorus goes like this, “Oh, to gladly risk it all, oh to be faithful to His call / Abandoned to grace yet anchored in His love / Living dangerously in the hands of God”. Hudson Taylor, the founder of CIM-OMF, summed it up perfectly when he said, “Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith.” May we all be willing to abandon ourselves to God’s grace and live riskily in response to our faith in him.
