Monday Musings ...

Yesterday was a very good day. There was a good spirit in our worship service, we had a good small group last evening, there were people at the altar and our attendance was good for the first Sunday in August. We had some spontaneous testimonies following our prayer time that were very encouraging.

I continued the sermon series "Why This Waste?", using Matthew 26:6-13 as our foundation scripture. We looked at the fact that the actions by the woman who poured the whole jar of perfume on Jesus was considered risky or unwise by most who observed her actions. This was considered risky, but it was by the world's standards but not risky by Jesus' standards. John Gardner wrote, "One of the reasons people stop growing and learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure." You cannot discover new oceans unless you go far enough to lose sight of the shore. It appears that she put her future at risk. This perfume was worth a year's wages, it could have been her retirement plan, or at least a major part of it. It could have helped her to be comfortable in the future. But that is not promised to us as we follow Christ, nor should it be our goal. We are called to obey not be comfortable. To obey not wait for everything to become clear to us. Ed Stetzer & Thom Rainer say, in their book "Transformational Church", that many people "try to take a 'don't rock the boat' approach. They think that if we all remain very still in the boat, it won't turn over. But it also won't go anywhere." Obeying Christ's call on your life involves risking it all. After all that is what he did and we are called to follow him. Hudson Taylor said, "Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith."

It is a fact that we are called to risk it all, but we must realize that this risk for Christ is worth it. Look at the eternal reward and notice that Jesus praised the woman when she poured it all out for him. This type of risk will impact the future. What are you doing that will make a difference for eternity? A ship wrecked off the New England coast many years ago. A young member of the Coast Guard rescue crew assessed the situation and said "We can't go out. We might make it back." A grizzled old member of the guard replied, "We have to go out. We don't have to come back."

What are you risking for Christ and his call? What are you doing to make a difference in eternity? Are you trying to stay safe in service to Christ, or are you risking it all for the sake of the call?