Second, I personally think it’s about time Christian Americans stop worrying about their comfort and level of risk and start living for Christ no matter what. I know you’d say that to your teenagers about the discomforts of living as a Christian in their school. I think the same applies to every other area of life. Jesus’ missions trip killed him, and thank God it did.
Giving up control of our lives and turning it over to God 100% is what He asks for, not just when it feels safe or convient [sic] for us. My life belongs to God. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do stupid things and trust He’ll save me from all harm, but when He calls me to serve Him in missions, I know that’s in accordance with His will because He said so in Matthew 28 and many other places in scripture. Whatever happens while I serve Him is up to Him.
I do believe that we (yes, including me) as Christian youth workers are guilty of proclaiming a safe Christianity. What does it mean to really be a committed follower of Jesus? Too many times, our answer focuses on making sure we have daily devotional times or wearing Christian t-shirts to school. Why don't we simply give students Jesus' words about taking a risk as a disciple:
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
-Luke 14:25-33, ESV
The answer to the "What do I do now that I'm a Christian?" should be "Take a risk. Not a self-centered risk that's irresponsible and ends up glorifying yourself, but a real risk that will cost you something that you love, perhaps that you love more than Jesus. That's the cost of discipleship. I can't tell you exactly what that will look like in your life, but in essence, to risk it all, to be willing to risk all that you have for the sake of following Jesus is what it means to be a Christian."
Thanks, Tim, for tackling this tough issue.
