Radical

Now that I've graduated, I find myself asking God more and more to show me what He wants for me in my future. I've been seeking Him in the little day-to-day things and asking Him what He wants me to do in the here and now... because if I'm doing what He wants me to do in the everyday kinds of things, I'll be making the decisions that He wants me to make for the future... if that makes any sense...

And since I've had more free time, I've started reading Radical by David Platt again. And it's been really good for me to see what God was saying through David Platt, because it's applying to my life right now... And as I was reading this morning, this section really popped out to me, so I thought I'd share it with all of you...

"Let's put ourselves in the shoes of thse eager followers of Jesus in the first century. What if I were the potential disciple being told to drop my nets? What if you were the man whom Jesus told to not even say good-bye to his family? What if we were told to hate our familes and give up everything we had in order to follow Jesus?
This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is enitrely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the  poor.
But we don't want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away. 'Jesus wouldn't really tell us not to bury our father or say good-bye to our family. Jesus didn't literally mean to sell all we have and give it to the poor. What Jesus really meant was...'
And this is where we need to pause. Because we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.
A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affections. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid anger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.
But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves."

I've felt like God was showing me these very things, but I couldn't figure out how to write it all down.. but David Platt puts it perfectly. The word 'christian' literally means 'little Christ.' Jesus lived His life uncomfortably. He was a servant. That's why He came, to serve. Not to exalt Himself above everyone else. He came to be the lowest of the low and to show God's love to those who were told didn't deserve it.

In America, we have lead ourselves to believe that we should be comfortable, to be served. We make ourselves think that God would never ask us to give anything up for Him because we deserve better. But if we are living like Jesus like we say we are, we should be putting others above us. We should be literally giving EVERYTHING we have to God. We should be living for Him, no matter the cost to ourselves. Jesus lived how God wanted Him to live, and as a result, literally lost His life because of it.

We are to give ALL we are to Jesus and we are to give EVERYTHING to Him, no matter the cost. I know it's better said than done, but I am giving my all to Him. I am letting Him shine through me, no matter the cost to myself because He is worth it. He has given me my life in the first place, so I should give my life back to Him. He is worth it all, no matter what the world makes us think. If we aren't willing to give Him our all, and if we aren't willing to live for Him, no matter the cost, we can't call ourselves Christians. We can't claim the name of Jesus for ourselves because we aren't living the way He asked us to live. We are living for ourselves and pretending that He says it's okay, when He very much so says that it's wrong.

I would most definitey encourage all of you to pick up this book and start reading it. I know it's changing my view of Christianity, showing me the things I've justified in my mind simply because I wanted to live for me. I would encourage you to really read the Bible and learn what it means to be a real Christ-follower. I will be praying for all of you and I would ask you to pray for me as well...