For years I told myself I wasn’t a risk taker. I’m certainly not an adrenaline junkie. I won’t be jumping off bridges attached to a bungee cord any time soon saying I did it just for fun. There are other things like being still by a body of water or soaking up the warmth of the sun that I find enjoyable. But, after assessing the last decade of my life, I’ve found those original words I spoke over myself to not be true.

What does it mean to be a risk taker? Is it a blind bet on a blackjack table, or talking to that girl you like? Is it the first one to take the leap off that big rock into the frigid water below? What all of these do have in common is a dose of uncertainty. You just might beat the house, she very well could like you too, and you’ll probably be just fine after that jump.

See, risk taking requires the unknown. There is no risk in stepping into a determined outcome. If I know choosing option A will produce option B every time, then there is no risk in that choice. It’s when uncertainty lies behind a choice that risk enters the equation.

Stick with me here. I want to take us to the words of Jesus. Because He says something seemingly paradoxical in the Gospel of Matthew, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it” (Matthew 16:25).

Everywhere we look in the world we see tricks and tips as to how to look younger, live longer, and stay youthful. Jesus speaks to this desire and flips it on its head. In order live, you actual must let go of your own life.

This seems quite risky, does it not? Jesus is trying to show His disciples a deeper way to live – an intended way. A way that is modeled after Him and for their ultimate good. The next verse says, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul” (Matthew 16:26).

After catching their interest regarding life in the first verse, He then points their attention to what is of ultimate value. This value is not found in riches, or wealth, or status, but in our deepest being – our soul. If one was to gain one or the other, it would be the one with his soul that comes out of the deal alive and with the deeper value.

There’s so much to be said of the words of Jesus, but just these two verses force us to do something – they force us to not only risk, but to release. We either release the words of Jesus and claim they aren’t true and go after the world, or we release the values of the world and dive headfirst into the way of Jesus.

Risk requires release. Often the release is that of control, and it always prompts us to trust in something. Fear is probably the most common reason we don’t risk. The uncertainty is too great, or I don’t know if I have enough knowledge to truly believe in said thing. The reality of the situation is this: you can be told a chair is trustworthy your entire life, but you won’t truly trust the chair until you release the fear of falling over and take a seat. Do you know what it is that you’re putting your trust in?