Scripture Reference 1 Corinthians 2

 ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Heb. 11: ³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Life Lesson: The Scriptures are replete with men and women who laid everything on the line, yes their lives and the lives of their family by standing firm and resolute on the promises of God! To a fear-filled world, faith has the appearance of recklessness by taking what many deem to be “unnecessary chances” or “risks”, however such reckless abandon to faith has time and again revealed the immeasurable and unlimited power and glory of the Lord to the world!   

When I speak of reckless living I am not referring to irresponsibility; what I am referring to is the fact that by nature faith risks everything by trusting God wholeheartedly! 

Jesus was not irresponsible by reaching out and touching the unclean and those with the contagion, leprosy. The apostle Paul must have seemed reckless and even unstable when he shook the poisonous viper off his hand into the fire and carried on as though nothing had happened. Why did he not run around in a fearful frenzy seeking medical help? No, he rested by faith in Christ, see also Mk 16:18, Lk 10:18-19! Men and women of the first three centuries would have appeared reckless and irresponsible by standing up for their faith even though that by doing so it meant imprisonment and even a horrific death in the coliseum or by crucifixion.  Father’s had to watch their children and their wives being torn apart by lions because they refused to recant their faith! These brave men and women risked everything for their faith and refused to deny that faith even though for all appearances God was not helping them. However, God was with them! They watched their family die in front of them then suddenly they were greeted by that family in the presence of God! What appeared to be reckless abandon was in fact the ultimate expression of faith in God!  What are you willing to lay on the line by faith?!