"He risked his life for the work of Christ."
What a commendation by the Apostle Paul speaking of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:30. That Greek verb for risk, parabouleuomai, can be translated: "to play the gambler." And it's that word and the example set by Ephaphroditus that inspired the Parabolani Brotherhood, aka the Gamblers. They gambled their lives by exposing themselves to contagious diseases and caring for the sick during the plagues.
Gambler for Christ. I like that terminology. I think it has an edge to it. And I think it's a reminder of our calling. While soldiers gambled for his clothing, Christ gambled his life on the cross for yours. And he didn't die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. What are you gambling for Christ?
What a commendation by the Apostle Paul speaking of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:30. That Greek verb for risk, parabouleuomai, can be translated: "to play the gambler." And it's that word and the example set by Ephaphroditus that inspired the Parabolani Brotherhood, aka the Gamblers. They gambled their lives by exposing themselves to contagious diseases and caring for the sick during the plagues.
Gambler for Christ. I like that terminology. I think it has an edge to it. And I think it's a reminder of our calling. While soldiers gambled for his clothing, Christ gambled his life on the cross for yours. And he didn't die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. What are you gambling for Christ?
7 Comments:
If Jesus died to make us "dangerous", why does God's word teach us in 1 Thess. 4:11-12, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you"?
Interesting how points people collectively in the same direction. I'm a church planter in FL and I just finshed planning a series on this topic yesterday. Check out the graphic http://twitpic.com/h494s
Quiet lives means not to draw attention to ourselves. Maybe a poker face?
Randy,
so are you saying the Parabolani should have minded their own business and not done the dangerous thing by risking their lives to care for the dying?
u can't build your theology on one verse. Gotta counter-balance with whole counsel of Scripture. Lots of danger. Read Hebrews 11.
Mark
Are we "gambling"? If "to live is Christ, and to die is gain", then what do we really have to lose?
I have no quarrels with the thought that we should be living on the edge, and I certainly don't think we're supposed to live a life without impact. (A quick trip through a commentary will put the 1 Thess verse into context). However, I don't see living on the edge for Christ as "gambling".
A life already surrendered for Christ can't be lost; however, it shouldn't be conserved. There's a native American word, "opahey", that loosely translates to "it's a great day to die", with the full meaning that each day of your life should be lived so fully, so completely, that if you were to die that day, you'd have no regrets, and would view it as a life well-lived. That's the goal of my Christian walk!
Greg,
It's the safest bet in the world :)
Mark
What we risk is comfort, predicability and self ambition. We're willing to Gamble all of this because we have faith in one that risked it all for us.
Seth,
Is a life of predictability a sin?
Does scripture teach that Jesus risked it all? I can not think of anywhere in Scripture that teaches He "risked" his life. There are plenty of references to Him "giving" his life. I would caution you in saying Christ "risked" because it implies His life, death, and resurrection and our redemption wasn't a sure thing going into it. Sacrifice yes ... risk no.
I'm not trying to split hairs here. Words do have meaning.
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