Recently, I’ve been trying to think of a word that sums up the kind of life that I want to live.
Do I want to live a comfortable life? No, that’s not right.
A rich life? No, that’s not right either.
What about an ambitious or passionate life? Okay, that’s a little better, but in my opinion, perhaps a little overused.
Friends, after many days of deep thought, I think I’ve finally come up with the word that I want to embody my entire life.
RECKLESS.
Are you surprised?
Wait, I haven’t finished. It’s not just a word; it’s a phrase.
RECKLESS for Christ.
Now do you understand?
NO!?
Today I want to re-interpret the word RECKLESS for you, and show you why it has recently become a word of such importance to me.
Meet a Christian guy named William Borden. He graduated highschool in 1904 as an heir to millions of dollars. For his graduation present, his parents gave him the lowly gift of a trip around the entire world. During this trip, William saw a lot of the pain and suffering and neediness in the world, and he became burdened for missions. By the end of this high-school graduation trip, he had determined to give his life to the Lord on the missions field.
At the same time, he wrote these words in the back of his Bible: “No Reserves.”
William went to Yale University, where he started a prayer group that grew in size from 150 students to 1,000 out of 1,300 Yale University students!
While at college, Will decided that God was calling him to the Kansu people of China, and turned all of his efforts toward that calling.
At the time he graduated from Yale, Will wrote two more words in the back of his Bible: “No Retreats.”
Then, Will Borden went to Seminary, turning down several high-paying job offers, and, once he graduated from Seminary, he went to Egypt to learn Arabic so that he could work with Muslims in China.
In Egypt, William Borden got spinal meningitis.
He died only one month after he had arrived in Egypt at 25 years old.
But, before he died, Borden wrote the last two words in the back of his Bible: “No Regrets.”
“No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets.”
This man’s life inspires one word in my mind: RECKLESS.
“Reckless” is “marked by a lack of proper caution: careless of consequences” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Also according to the Merriam Webster, some words similar to “Reckless” would be “daring, adventurous, nonchalant, careless, daredevil.”
Many people might believe that William Borden’s life was marked by a lack of proper caution. They might think that he was too careless of the consequences that he might face by going out of the sphere he had always known, and being willing for God to use him in any way He wanted to.
Many people may believe that William Borden was “Reckless.”
And who’s to say that he wasn’t?
William Borden lived a reckless life for Christ.
When I say the word “reckless” I’m not just talking about carelessness. I’m not just talking about daring or adventure (although those do play a part). I’m talking about a passion, a relentless pursuit of a goal, a total abandonment of anything else besides that goal.
A total abandonment of selfishness.
A total abandonment of normal “cushy-Christian” constructs.
A total abandonment of fear: fear of awkwardness, fear of witnessing, fear of stepping outside of a comfort zone.
Fear of giving all.
I’m talking about taking a stand on the Word of God, and letting God mold us into Christ-like people who are willing to follow Him no matter the cost, no matter what anyone else is doing.
Friends, I’m talking about being Reckless.
No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets.
Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
We are called to live a life of surrender. A life of faithfulness to God. A life of ambition. A life of daring. A life of abandonment. For Christ.
Hmmm, kind of sounds like a reckless life doesn’t it?
And that is the kind of life I want to live.
What about you?
-- Karis Anne
Note: Sources utilized for this article- pastorjack.org; cbn.com; merriam-webster.com