In my Bible reading of late, I have been impressed again and again that a commitment to follow Christ involves risk. Not risk in the sense that we ultimately lose when we follow Jesus – but a risk in the sense that we do not know what our future holds in this life. We are not promised perfect health, long life, financial success, prestige or fame or an abundance of goods in this life – those things may be ours and they may not.
The writer of Hebrews I think best describes this risk: 'And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.
Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- ' Hebrews 11:32-37 
On the one hand you have the kind of faith testimony that rescues from wild animals, saves from fiery death, witnesses miraculous salvation from execution, puts entire armies to flight and triumphs in resurrection. On the other hand you have the kind of faith testimony that endures torture and death, humiliation and beatings, stonings, prison terms without release and even being sawn in two. Destitution, persecution and poverty mark these faithful – not prosperity, fame, or an abundance of goods. And yet the writer says that, '...these were all commended for their faith' Hebrews 11:39 And I conclude that risk is right.
One of the truths that we are building our lives around here at Summit is that we have been called by Jesus to cultivate a lifestyle that reflects our everlasting enjoyment in God by risking temporal loss for eternal gain. That is to say, our present and future enjoyment of God is worth any loss we might experience in this life, and our living and our life-choices ought to reflect that. Hardships, pain, separation from friends and family, financial loss, or calamities do not kill our joy or cause us to quake with fear. Our joy and confidence are rooted in God Himself and in not things or circumstances or fickle feelings. God is our source and supply and sustainer of our joy and all that comes from His loving hands is ultimately good for us and glory for Him, whether long life or early death.
And this poses a question that haunts me – and since I don''t like to be haunted alone – I'll let it haunt you: If we have been made glad in God through the gospel – if He is our confidence and well-spring of joy – shouldn't we be the most radical risk-takers in this life to see others made glad in Him too? I believe that was the thing that marked those who risked it all for the cause of Christ in the past and marks the faithful followers of Christ today.
On December 17,1850, Captain Allen Gardiner and six companions, after enduring a long trip from England, landed in Patagonia on the southern tip of South America on Picton Island. They came to bring the Gospel to people there who were so primitive that evolutionist Charles Darwin said they existed "in a lower state than in any other part of the world,” and pronounced them incapable of being civilized. The natives were fierce cannibals and the land and weather absolutely treacherous. The team had brought six month's worth of supplies, and friends back in England had committed to sending a relief ship with more supplies in six months. After leaving England, Gardiner wrote in his journal, "Nothing can exceed the cheerful endurance and unanimity of the whole party ... I feel that the Lord is with us, and cannot doubt that He will own and bless the work He permitted us to begin. "
But Gardiner was not depending on the mere outward, temporal signs of blessing - but rather on a God who works all things for His glory and our good. "Grant 0 Lord, that we may be instrumental in commencing this great and blessed work, but should Thou see fit in Thy providence to hedge up our way, and that we should even languish and die here, I beseech Thee to raise up others and to send forth labourers into this harvest. Let it be seen, for the manifestation of Thy Glory and Grace that nothing is too hard for Thee ... "
And as it turned out, things began to go wrong. Unknown to Gardiner, his supporters back in England couldn't find a ship to carry the next six months' supplies to Patagonia. No one wanted to make such a dangerous journey. So as the missionaries carried out their work on the cold tip of South America and as their supplies ran dangerously low, they scanned the horizon for the approaching ship. It never arrived. Those men faced a tough test. Alone in a hostile environment, without food or supplies, hunger and death were their constant companions. The Yaghan natives they were supposed to evangelize were more interested in stealing their supplies than the gospel and not one came to Christ.
By the time a relief ship finally reached Patagonia in October 1851, almost a year after the missionaries had arrived, Gardiner and his men had all died of starvation. Gardiner's emaciated body was found lying beside a boat. He was clothed in three suits, with wool stockings over his arms to ward off the numbing cold. The men off the relief ship found his journal which bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness, and a fierce dependence upon God: "Lord, at your feet I humbly fall, And I give you all I have, All that your love requires. To lack is best, For all is yours, Take care of me in this hour of test. Do not let me have the thoughts of a Complainer. Make me feel your power which gives life and I will learn to praise you while carrying your cross .. "
And it also bore the record of unreasonable, unconquerable joy: "Poor and weak as we are, our boat is the very Bethel [house of God} to our soul, for we feel and know that God is here. Asleep or awake, I am, beyond the power of expression, happy. "
And it recorded the supernatural hand of God to sustain them: "By God's Grace this blessed group was able to sing praises to Christ for eternity. I am not hungry or thirsty in spite of 5 days without eating; Wonderful Grace and Love to me, a sinner. .. "
Allen was the last man to die there alone at the bottom of the world in that windswept, frigid and barren land, and yet the last entry in the shaking, feeble hand of the starving missionary blazes forth with incredible hope and joy: "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God. "
On the face of it, this was a tragedy. So what was it that enabled these men to worship God when their mission was in ruins, no converts to proudly point to and no prospects of any to come, and all earthly hope had vanished? What was it that possessed a man to write as Allen Gardiner did? From what source did these expressions of joy and peace in the midst of unrelenting hardship and sorrow spring? How can he say with such honesty and evident passion - "Asleep or awake, I am, beyond the power of expression, happy." or "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God. " ?
I am convinced that Gardiner and the others knew the unconquerable joy to risk it all for the cause of Christ. They were not constrained by feelings or circumstances to determine success or failure. It was the sovereign hand of God that had led them there in the first place, and it was His hand that sustained their joy through dismal days. In fact, the last entry in the diary of one of Gardiner's companions read: "The will of the Lord be done". Ultimately their joy, their hope, their delight was not rooted in the number of converts they saw, or in conducive circumstances or any other external measurement, but in Christ Himself.
Our culture schools us in risk-avoidance. We spend a great deal of energy and time to secure ourselves from risk – to do otherwise invites criticism and jeers and condescending remarks. But the history of those who followed Christ most closely, clearly shows that risk is normal and risk is right. I pray that Christ would free us from the seduction of security – that He would release us from the paralyzing effects of comfort and ease – that He would explode the myth of safety and ignite our hearts to risk it all for the sake of Christ.
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Pastor's Corner 
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