I don’t mountain climb…I am afraid of heights, don’t really like to hike all that much (much less at a 45 degree incline) and I don’t trust people easily. However, I do know a lot of mountain climbers and one thing I know about them is they always have a story to tell. There is always a near brush with death that led them to do something that they had never done before and emerged victorious on top of the jagged rock. These are the same people that cascade down the white water rapids on a piece of tree bark or fought off a bear with a can of antiperspirant. They always have a story to tell and to be honest they are great stories…but what makes them great? The greatness of the story seems to be in direct proportion to the risk that took place. When is the last time you have heard a really great story about a person floating down a lazy river or walking around the block in a neighborhood?
I was asking myself the question the other day, when was the last time I took a risk? When was the last time I did something that was above the norm that would cause me not necessarily bodily harm but could damage my comfort and day to day life? When was the last time I did something that would make a great story? I need to live a life worthy of the story.
So I got to thinking what are some risks that we can take? Well we can…
- Begin a ministry/project that without God we are completely not qualified for
- Share Christ with that person that you know doesn’t care
- Choose not to watch your favorite TV show so that you can invest in someone’s life (this risk is the concentration on the word invest, because that requires more from us than just a few moments)
- or…I guess you could go climb a mountain or attack a bear with deodorant
What risks are you taking? What stories are you writing?
Sean Rheaume 