Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 7 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Authentic Community” (LISTEN HERE).
Are you a risk taker?
Some people naturally have a thrill of throwing themselves out of airplanes, hang gliding off of cliffs, or jumping into the ocean from a rocky crag. You might say they are risk takers. What’s the return? Perhaps the return is a huge adrenaline rush and sense of accomplishment.
Some people are financial risk takers. They are people willing to invest in start-up companies. They buy a dilapidated house and hope to flip it. They invest in the market and hope to make a return.
Every risk taker evaluates the ROI – Return On Investment.
Some are willing to settle for a small ROI, others want a more significant ROI for their investment.
What about relationship risk takers?
Relationships are risky. Every relationship has the potential to end in failure, heart ache, and deep hurt. Ask one recently divorced. Ask one recently laid off. Ask one estranged from their parents. Relationships can leave deep scars emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically.
We get hurt once, we are less likely to invest in that relationship again…and perhaps less likely to invest in relationships at all.
Like a financial investor who loses all their investment in a start up that blows up, we can become more and more risk-averse when it comes to relationships…and as a result keep our distance from them.
However, authentic community needs risk takers.
If your relationship risk averse at the moment, perhaps it’s important to remember the “upside” of the risk which God desires us to be blessed by.
Nearly 60 times the Spirit of God gives direction to what blessings come when we enter into relationships with one another in the Church. Here’s just a sampling…
- We have people to love and people to love us – John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
- We have people to carry our burdens when life gets difficult – Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
- We have opportunities to serve others and individuals to help us when needed – Galatians 5:13 serve one another humbly in love.
- We have people to pray for us and opportunities to pray for others – James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
With all the encouragement and promises that come when the community of the church God established functions under the love, grace and mercy of God, authentic community becomes very much a blessing to every person involved.
Relationships are risky because we all struggle with a sinful nature that gets in the way of showing each other the love God desires. However, if we focus on the negative risk, we will avoid the people God has put around us to also bless us. Rather, let’s choose to focus on the positive ROI God designs us to experience in his church as WE invest in building, keeping and growing authentic community around us.
Want to see an example of great ROI on investing in relationships? Here’s the description of the early church in Acts 2:42ff.
Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The Lord will bless you and through you bring blessings to others as we take the risk and invest to build authentic community in our churches!
Apply: How do you perceive the risk of relationships? Positive or negative? Perhaps take time to evaluate what is keeping you from investing in relationships and what things are preventing you from investing in relationships.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for taking a risk on me and bringing me into your family of believers through faith in Jesus. Empower me by your Spirit to engage in the risk of relationships and invest fully to love, care for, and serve the people around me that I might be a positive blessing to all in the work of your church. AMEN.