Risk and Expectation

Last week we were talking once again about our supported missionaries in Ukraine. There is a lot of international drama playing out there right now and things certainly look serious. This led us into thinking about safety and risk. How does the Christians consider such things? There are a few things I would like for us to think about.

First, I think it is good to say that the Bible calls us to generalized safety. What I mean by this is that day to day decisions are to be made with people’s health and welfare as paramount. The Bible shows us this in many ways. In the Old Testament law, there were provisions for general safety. For example, you had to put a fence around your roof (Duet. 22:8). Roofs were flat and were another area of floor space to use for family life or working; adding a parapet, a fence, kept people from falling off. The law speaks of keeping tight management on dangerous animals (Exod. 21:28-29). It also gives regulations for quarantining for sickness and disease (Lev. 13:1-12). These are not only commands, these are the heart of God on display. In the New Testament, God speaks often of honor and showing consideration for all men. You can’t do these things without care for bodily safety.

Having said all of that, there are still times when we make decisions that will be risky. Missionaries will still move to places where the chance of disease or persecution will be far higher for their family. This is risk, and it is not out of step with the previous paragraph for two reasons. First, danger is different than expectation. If we know that something costly is going to happen, then it is no longer risk, it is sacrifice. That is a different topic. We cannot subject others to that scenario without knowledgeable, willing consent. In this regard, children do not have knowledgeable, willing consent. Secondly, we should be willing to take risk because Paul says we live in an age where “the time has been shortened” and “the form of this world is passing away.” (1 Cor. 7:29, 31). This is the time for spending and being spent in gospel endeavors, some of which will be risky. The stakes are too high, and the time is too short to play it overly cautious.

So to summarize, we should be mindful of safety, yet willing to take calculated risk in the name of love and for gospel advance. Finally, with one eye to safety and another eye for calculated risk, how do these merge together in the mind of the biblical Christian? I believe there is a passage which brings this all together powerfully.

In Philippians chapter 1:19 Paul is in jail and at the mercy of the Roman government. Yet he believes confidently that deliverance is coming. He says that deliverance is going to come through the prayers of the saints and the work of the Spirit. But, let me take you down to the last phrase of verse 20 where Paul says that either death or life could come upon him. So, wait a minute. What kind of deliverance is Paul talking about if he could die? If death is a real possibility, then his confidence is not in God’s physical protection. What kind of deliverance was Paul confident would happen? Verse 20 fills this out. Paul says, “I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now as always, be exalted in my body.”

So let’s break down this Christian expectation. First, we can expect that God will provide everything needed at every moment. But what is needed? We don’t know. That is the kicker, and that is why things are risky. We don’t know what God is going to provide. Will he provide safety or allow danger? We don’t know. Will he provide clear direction or perplexity? We don’t know. Will he provide food and money? We don’t know. Regarding these things, all we can say is that death and life are both options. In light of that we should be mindful for safety, but we also take the risks that love calls for. And we trust that God will sovereignly plant our steps into or out of health, sickness, money, loss, friends, enemies, life or death.

So then, what is God providing? He is going to provide for whatever will allow us to exalt Christ. That is what Paul was expectant about. Only God knows how that is best going to be done, and so we must surrender to his wise and sovereign plan. This certain supply is why we are “more than conquerors.” (Rom. 8:39) We are more than conquerors because God will make everything in our lives serve our greatest good, and our greatest good is the exaltation Christ. Even our death will serve us in this way. Therefore, when we are praying for all things to be provided for the exaltation of Christ, we know we are praying in the will of God and in the name of Christ and, as Jesus said over and over, it will be done for you. Can you see how foolish it is to live for anything other than the glory of Christ? If the gospel is not central in your life, then you have put yourself into a whirlwind of uncertainty. The only sure thing, and the only thing that won’t bring you shame, is living for the glory of Christ. That is going to be accomplished, guaranteed. So be mindful for safety, yet willingly take calculated risk in the expectation that God will exalt his Son in our lives according to his plan, through his people’s prayers, and by his wise provisions to bringing it all about.