Worth the risk

So my wife and I were talking to this young man last night about the possibility of him moving into our home. We have done this from time to time with other people in need of a roof over their heads, but this time is different. There is greater risk involved than times past.
By the time he was 10, he had seen 3 people shot to death just several feet from him. His dad has been in prison for his entire life, and numerous other personal events have taken place that have taken him in and out of shelters and group homes. As we were sitting there listening to his story and learning what transpired in his life to get him to this point I couldn't help but think of the opportunities I have had in life just because of the parents God chose me to be born of. This kid is sitting behind the eight ball in large part because of who his parents are. Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair. Due to issues from his past, he has the potential to be violent at times, and therein lies the risk. I have a wife and 3 little kids to be concerned about. They are my priority.
While we were meeting with this young man, we asked where he had been sleeping. It turns out he had found a nice comfy spot in an alley behind a bank, where the drizzling rain has been keeping him awake for the last couple of nights.
I know that I have a duty to protect my family from harm, but what happens when that duty runs face first into my duty to not allow another human being to sleep in an alley in the cold drizzling rain?
After we got back home last night, I was reading this book by Donald Miller called "A million miles in a thousand years". There is a part in the book where Donald is thinking about how he grew up without a dad and decided he was going to help others who might be going through the same thing. He hooks up with this other guy named Duncan, who had a similar idea and acted upon it, and as a result, has helped hundreds of underprivileged kids find a platform to launch a new life from. The two men were sitting in Duncan's office, discussing their past. As I was reading, I came to this comment:
"The most painful of Duncan's recollections was that he never had an adult friend. Somebody to show him the way".
Then I started thinking about Jesus….
Jesus was a risk taker. He went to places where He knew people wanted Him killed. He went there because there was a goal He was after that was worth the risk involved.
His Father's business.
We have a graphic on a wall at our house that says, "..as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". I noticed that it doesn't say, "…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, unless it involves risk of some kind".
I suppose I could spend the rest of my life trying to be safe, and in turn never have to help anyone, but then I am just not so sure I would be able to tell someone that I am a Jesus follower.
I was listening to Francis Chan this morning and he said, "we are not just called to SHARE a verbal picture of God with people, we are called to SHOW a picture of God".
What better way to live this out than to take a little risk that might just lead to a huge payout for a young man that calls an alley his home.