"Living on the Edge" AKA-Taking Risks

Recently my husband and I were on the big island in Hawaii with some of our children and grandchildren. We had the opportunity to view the molten lava spewing out of fissure 8 from the Kilauea Volcano. My daughter and her husband viewed it via a long difficult boat ride in the early morning hours, resulting in a close and magnificent view. It was definitely risky as proved by a serious accident occurring from the same company two days following their ride! The only other option for viewing flowing lava was a helicopter ride, which my husband and I chose due to several factors, two of which were sea sickness and "grandchild sitting" needs. Yet the helicopter ride, for me, was "living on the edge". We rode in a "doors off" four seat helicopter. Since  I don't "do" roller coasters one would wonder why I would even attempt this event but my desire to actually see the hot, runny lava was so great that I decided the risk was "worth it". I am happy to report, it was! To see another of God's powerful creations was truly magnificent.

In reflecting on my life in general, due in part to my upcoming 50th high school reunion, I would say I have taken a number of risks:

Wild escapades on a barn bag swing] as a teenager
 Iowa farm girl marrying a man from New York-(my parents thought that the biggest risk ever-Ha)
Riding in a hot air balloon
Living in and negotiating the cities and backroads of China for three years
Tandem bike-riding in China, Holland, Germany, Italy
Zip lining in the jungles of Costa Rica
Scuba diving on a multitude of islands including the cenotes of Mexico (so scary!)
Living 6 years full time in an RV and traveling the country volunteering at camps

I know each one of us can list risk-taking experiences in our lives that have changed us. Yet true change, resulting in spiritual growth, is in spiritual risk-taking, which could be defined as hearing and responding to the call of God through the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is chock full of spiritual risk-takers. Here are but a few:

Abraham asked to sacrifice his son.
Moses asked to approach the Pharaoh of Egypt and demand the Israelites be set free from slavery.
David approaching Goliah, the giant, to do battle with five small stones and a sling
Rahab hiding Israelite spys in her home.
Ruth leaving her country and moving to the country of her mother-in-law
Esther entering the king's chambers to plead for her people
Peter entering a Gentile's home (Cornelius) and sharing the truth about Jesus with his family
Paul preaching in a multitude of Jewish synagogues and proclaiming Jesus as the prophesied Messiah

These giants of faith were no different than you or I. They were just obedient, even when obedience meant stepping into the unknown. I have to now ask myself when have I stepped out into the unknown spiritually and obeyed and what were the results? This is not such an easy list to compose. I won't bore you with what God has done through my meager attempts at spiritual risk-taking but I do challenge you to take a look at your spiritual journey and see if risk-taking is an intricate part of your "road".
You might be asking what exactly does this look like? Here are a few examples:

-filling that children's church vacancy by teaching those squirming little toddlers an hour a week.
-taking some cookies across the street to new neighbors.
-volunteering time at a homeless shelter
-visiting the lonely senior citizens at a nearby Senior Center
-cleaning the yard of an ailing neighbor
-being part of a short term missions trip or even answering the call to go on the mission field

On and on it goes-millions of ideas just waiting for the risk taker to grab hold of and shine the light of Jesus to a darkened world.