I am not much of a risk-taker. I think all who know me would say I play it safe. I follow rules, use a fair share of hand-sanitzer, and I am known to stop at pretty much every yellow light I come into contact with. And while most 9 year olds were tickling their taste buds with the delicious nectar of the summer sweet Honeysuckle plant, I spent a majority of my childhood far away, convinced by my mom, that one taste from this lethal shrub could paralyze me.

So it was not such a surprise when I found myself convicted yet encouraged when I recently read Risk is Right, by John Piper. In his last chapter, Piper spends a little time talking about Romans 8:37, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” I never really thought about it. What does that even mean, to be more than a conquer? He goes on to explain how if we conquer something we defeat it, but to be more than that is to make the enemy our slave. I would have still been confused if I had not watched Unbroken last night. In the beam scene, the main character Louie continues to push through even though “The Bird” tries to break him. For what seems like hours he withstands the pain and perseveres. How does his enemy react? He falls to his knees. He realizes that he does not have power over him, even in such a weak state, and Louie seems to have even more strength than before. He is almost encouraged by this test, along with the host of American soldiers watching. The very thing “The Bird” tried to use to crush him was turned into the encouragement they all needed to keep going.

I cannot help but think in light of the recent events in Charleston, that Satan must fall to his knees when he hears the gracious statements from the victim’s families. Using his very work as an opportunity to show grace in front of an entire nation. He must be terribly disappointed when Jon and I, by His Spirit, push through fear of rejection to pursue people, and then have honest conversations about the very fears that could have kept us inward. And finally, I am sure he gets extremely overwhelmed when people unplug their families from the comfy life to share the good news in dangerous places.

Chasing careless endeavors is not the call, but faithfully following Christ in what may seem like risky business is right.

-k