I’m a bit excited. I bought a new skateboard last week. The 'track my parcel' option tells me it should arrive today. As a teenager my skateboard went everywhere with me. I rode it everyday and I even had a half pipe built from scrap plywood in my front yard. But I am 43 this year, I haven’t skated in years and I am certainly not the picture of health I wish I was.
This could very well be a terrible idea. There is every chance that this is the last thing I type before I break my wrist on the weekend. Or perhaps the risk will be worth the reward and I’ll again find skating as a source of joy in life, and better yet a way to join in with my roller skating daughters at the skatepark.
It’s certainly a risk. Maybe a foolish one. But everything that has the potential to be good, begins with a risk.
15th century French philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli famously said, “Never was anything great achieved without danger.” Or maybe you prefer the words of Drew Barrymore who said, “If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul”.
The key idea is the same. Risk doesn’t always lead to good outcomes, but avoiding risk never does.
One of Jesus' most often quoted statements is also one of His most misunderstood. In John 10:10 Jesus states, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. This verse has been used countless times to suggest that the life Jesus offers His followers is one of optimum health, financial prosperity, and general ease. While that would be wonderful, when you consider that many of Jesus' earliest followers, who actually heard Him speak these words, were martyred for their faith, it’s difficult to believe that’s what Jesus meant by 'life to the full'.
If 'life to the full' isn’t all holidays and disposable income, then what is it? The specific word Jesus used in this verse means 'to go beyond necessity'. One writer describes it like this, “John wanted all his readers to know that the gift of Jesus is life beyond our wildest dreams”. When I think of those first followers of Jesus, the risk they took to follow Jesus was tremendous. Many lost family, businesses, community status, and freedom. They gained however, true purpose, Christian community, shared mission, the knowledge of God’s deep love of them, the burning desire to share that with other people, and of course the certainty of eternal life.
Those first Christians took a risk and then changed the world forever. Their lives weren’t easy, but they mattered significantly.
When I think of the students that come through our school. I hope they go on to live lives that make a deep impact in our world. Lives of innovation, lives that stand against injustice, lives that bring light into dark places. None of this will happen without risk, failed attempts, mistakes, and a drive to keep going. These bigger risks will start with smaller ones. Auditioning for the school musical is a risk (I might not get picked), taking a shot for a three pointer is a risk (it could be an air ball), speaking to my peers for Chapel is a risk (I might bomb).
Not all risks are equal. Some outcomes are not worth the potential damage. It’s our job as parents and as a school community to help our kids discern the difference so that they remain safe. However, if we only ever teach them to avoid risk, they may never become the world changer they were born to be.
Pr Michael Chapman
Head of Campus Ministries
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