Chapter 6: Gambling on God

Part Two: Committed in Relationships
"Be extravagant for God or be extravagant for the devil, but for God's, don't be tepid!"
~C.T. STUDD

You always hear from pastors and Christian speakers that gambling is a sin and that its bad etc etc etc. However what they don't tell you is that living the Christian life is a HUGE gamble! Now you may be thinking,"Stop, rewind.and play that again! How can Christianity and gambling go together when we all know that gambling is a sin!" Well allow me to explain....

As Christians we risk everything, our joy, our minds, our hearts, our very lives on the belief that God is real, and that he raised Jesus from the dead. If this risk, this gamble turns out to be a bust then as Paul says we are to be pitied the most of all mankind for we have been made fools and have risked everything on a lie.

If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. (1 Corinthians 15:16-20. The Message)

However as that last verse points out, their is hope in our gamble.God promises many different things in the Scripture: a loving relationship with him, joy, his abiding presence, heaven, homes, brothers, sisters and his glory, and with these promises we are able to find true happiness for we have Jesus in our lives.

Before I end i want to leave you with a passage from the chapter that i think summarizes everything it talked about....

"Risking with Jesus means losing the world's eyes yet winning in God's eyes. If you bet the whole house, you will gain all of Jesus. If you decide to play it safe in your faith-life, you may not gain any of Jesus. He asks for high stakes. At this blackjack table of the casino of God the minimum bet is your whole life. If you want to bet any less, go do something boring and harmless like pursuing the American Dream."

So are you ready to gamble your life away on a belief most of the world thinks is foolish? Or are you too afraid and want to stay this round out? The choice is up to you....