Risking Love

What do you think of when you thinking of risk-taking?  Do you think of skydiving, bungee jumping, driving reckless, running with scissors?  Or maybe risk-taking to you is a little less intense.  Maybe it is eating fried foods, not washing your hands before a meal, or other sickening things like that.  Whatever risking-taking means to you, do you do it?  Honestly, are you a risk taker?

            God certainly is.  Consider this: He sent His only Son, Jesus, into a cruel world just for the minute chance that we might accept His precious gift of grace.  Talk about risky!  He had no guarantees, no insurance, no contract promising we would even consider it.  But He loved us enough anyway.  He wanted so badly to save us from Hell that He sacrificed the life of His precious Son, just so you and I could have the opportunity to say yes or no.

            Recently, I was considering this, and I thought, “How much love am I willing to risk?”  Think about it.  God loved us enough to risk it all.  Do we love Him enough to risk it all?  Better yet, do we love Him enough to risk loving others?

            What if we did just that?  What if we risked loving more?  Would we be so quick to judge others?  Would we be so vengeful?  Would we be so selfish?  A friend of mine once said, “Everyone thinks hate is the opposite of love. But really, the opposite of love is selfishness.”  How true.  If we risked loving more, there would be less hatred in the world because there would be less selfishness and more selflessness.  There would be less self-centeredness and more serving of others.  We would not be so wrapped up in ourselves and as a result, hatred would not factor in to our way of thinking.  It is hard to be spiteful toward someone when you honestly want the best for him or her.

            So what if we risked loving more?  What if instead of gossiping, we spent our time spreading positive facts about others?  What if instead of getting even, we prayed actual blessings toward the person who hurt us?  What if instead of judging others, we took the time to accept them, and maybe even tried to walk in their shoes so we could see what they are experiencing?  What if instead of being jealous, we realized that the world does not revolve around us?  Are you getting the picture?

            God loved us enough to risk everything...and I mean everything!  Seems to me, the least we can do is to risk loving Him back with the kind of passion He has already shown us.  And the best way to do this is—loving others more.  After all, risking love is what it is all about.  Don’t believe me?  Just check out the model we already have!