There was a man who was bragging to his friends about his encounter with a man-eating lion. His friends said he was lying. They wanted proof. The story-teller reached into his backpack and pulled out the tail of the lion, showing it off. One of his friends said, "Why did you cut off the tail and not the head?" His friend responded, "Somone else already beat me to it!"
The man sounded bold and courageous until the reality was unveiled. There is no courage in cutting off a dead lions tail.
Bold claims happen all the time. However, what sets a real bold claim apart from all the rest can be discovered in one word: risk. There is no boldness where there is no risk. It is not bold to claim you will sit in front of the TV and watch a show. There is boldness is claiming to hike a wilderness trail since that will involve risk. There is greater boldness in claiming to hike Mt. Everest as the risks are magnified.
It seems to me that today, we are risk managers in the life of faith. Our interest is in limiting how much risk we expose ourselves to. To fully follow Christ, we have to accept the risks that come with it. Christ boldly went to the cross on our behalf and we should pick up our cross daily in response.
While we should not be reckless, we need to accept that following Jesus can be risky. The only way we can face that risk is to live boldly, like Jesus.
From - Your Friendly Neighborhood Preacher