iRisk
“He said, ‘That’s what I mean: Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag. (Luke 19:26 MSG)
Jesus saw something in this short tax collector that everyone else missed and passed by. He called it out and it changed everything in Zacchaeus’ life and all who knew him. Jesus took a risk on this man, risking His own reputation and invested his time into this man. He then tells the parable of the talents. He makes it so clear that following Christ is not going to be status-quo, run-of-the-mill, or following the crowd.
Yesterday, as I was sitting in traffic on my home from the office I heard the sad news that Steve Jobs had just passed away, losing his battle with pancreatic cancer at the young age of 56. I instantly felt grief for this loss, not only for his family, but selfishly for me and the rest of the world who have so enjoyed his ingenuity, invention, and innovation over the years. I can truly say that it has been primarily with his Apple products that I am returned that “kid on Christmas morning” feeling every time. I can’t believe this one man’s impact on my daily life. I am typing this on my iPad while listening to Worship music playing through my MacBook with my iPhone sitting next to me. I am surrounded by his risk taking. He saw things that others did not see. I then came across this quote and couldn’t help but see how this lines up with what Jesus is telling me through the Scripture this morning: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]. Of course I know the best inner voice to follow is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit telling me not to walk by Zacchaeus. He is the one telling me to take risks in giving, discipleship, church planting. Dreaming of what the church could be outside of the cultural parameters that I have grown up in and have grown to limit the creative expression of our King in so many ways. President Obama described Steve Jobs “among the greatest of American innovators- brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world and talented enough to do it.”. Working out of his garage he created and recreated, invented and reinvented, risked and risked again until now Apple is the most valuable tech company in the world with a market value of $351 billion. What if the church advanced the Good News of the Gospel with the same creativity and determination to risk it all for Him. Through Steve Jobs computers went from geeky obsession to a household necessity to a personal identity statement. What if instead of allowing the message of Christ to be marginalized we started to taking more risks? What if we looked at what we are doing and asked ourselves how we can do a better job of presenting the Good News?
Lord, after seven years of pastoring New Hope Seattle how can I come back to the drawing board with You and risk more for You and Your Kingdom? Take off my blinders. Help me to see what You see that everyone is just walking by.
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” [The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]
