Should I risk or dare? One term we often hear in Christian preaching, and that I dislike is “to risk”. Some people in the Church think that believing, and living a life consistent with it, is something like crossing a forest full of bears. Well, “to risk” is “to put oneself at risk”, “to expose oneself”, even “to dare;” and none of this has anything to do with my faith.
If believing were to run the risk of truth, then, I admit that God could be wrong, like a pyramid scheme. But did not the psalmist say... trusting in You, I enter the fray, trusting in my God? He who believes, “all that he undertakes works out well for him”, and Mary is the best example of this. She, instead of “risking”, “believed” that all that the angel said was true. Faith is following a Person you love well, who says “take up your mat and follow me.” It is He who calls... and not us.
The second word I dislike is “to renounce”. A true Christian does not “renounce” anything except Satan. On the contrary, what he does do is “choose the best”, “to love”. Moreover, I am suspicious when they say that “one must renounce in order to believe”. Because, the reason is very simple, just as Mbappé does not “renounce” a small utility car every time he gets into his Ferrari... so, for Christians, when we choose God, everything else ceases to be a worthwhile option. If I can have a steak... why would I go to adidas or kwek-kwek?
Sometimes, we are tempted to look back. ‘What would have become of me’... ‘Lord, I gave up so much to follow You!’ ... without knowing that, if we allow ourselves to be carried away by these siren songs, we run the risk of sinking like Peter. Could it be, rather, that someone Evil prefers that we pay attention to our “renunciations,” so as to separate ourselves, little by little, from that great treasure that we have chosen, and have in our hands?
God doesn't want us to be ‘resigned’... but, something even more valuable: that we –joyfully– choose Him every day!
And finally, the third word I dislike is “sharing”. How many times have we heard that a Christian “is one who shares what is his own with one who has nothing”! To “share” then becomes an interchange. I give you my coke and you, in return, pass me the potato chips. All balanced... all very equitable.
I would rather say that “all that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is yours”. Isn't this the divine logic? Like the widow who gave all she had; she really “shared”. And I see Christ, there, on the cross, so bound... without holding anything back... and I begin to understand it... everything, everything, everything.
Some excerpts from Juan Cadarso
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