Life is a BIG risk!

          Tournaments are stressful. Whether it's the Bowl Championship Game or the NCAA Final or the Super Bowl, there is a lot of tension. And that's just among the fans! Some fans get so anxious that they can't even watch the game. They get up and walk around or even go outside. If there is so much apprehensiveness in such a tournament, why even play?

 

          If the possibility of your team losing causes such an emotional burden and psychological hardship, why do you even want your team to make it to the final game? Why would you want your team to play that final championship match when the risk of losing is so big? The potential embarrassment that comes from the University of Kentucky losing to their rival, the University of Louisville, does not stop Wildcat fans from wanting UK to play U of L. Why not? 

 

          Because if the risk of failure is so big, it is because the reward is commensurate or greater. In sports, the reward is bragging rights. It's a trophy. It's a banner to hang from the ceiling. It's the opportunity to wear "Champions" t-shirts for a year. For the coach, it's probably a huge bonus. 

 

          Life is a big risk. The risk of failure is horrendous. It's an eternity separated from God (2 Thessalonians 1:9). It's an eternity in a fire that is not quenched (Mark 9:48). It is an endless round of torments (Luke 16:23). It is a gloomy, utter darkness (Jude 13). It is an eternal immersion in a lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). It is an eternal odor of rotten eggs with no end (Revelation 19:20). It is an eternal weeping (Matthew 8:12). It is an eternal pain generating gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:28). The risk of failing to live a life that honors God is tremendous. 

 

          But that's because the reward for living a life that honors God is commensurate or greater. It's an eternal home with God (2 Corinthians 5:1). It is an eternity in the presence of Jesus Christ (John 14:3). It is an eternity with the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). It's a life that has no end (Matthew 19:16). It is a home that has no end (Luke 16:9). It is an eternal treasure of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). It is a comfort which no end (2 Thessalonians 2:16). It is a redemption that is eternal (Hebrews 9:12). 

 

          That's what makes life worth living.

 

--Paul Holland