Sunday, May 27, 2012

be radical

"or we can take an honest look at the Jesus of the bible and dare to ask what the consequences might be if we really believed Him and really obeyed Him."-radical, by david platt

i'm in my second round of reading radical by david platt and i'm wondering why nothing changed the first time i read it. why didn't i have the feelings i do now, then?

or worse, did i...and then put the book down along with those feelings?

i want to first and foremost point out that i'm reading this book along with the Word of God. it needs to be noted that when i say it's "rocking my world" i mean that the words Jesus spoke are rocking my world.

this time around though, i'm really wondering what does radical look like in my life?
not in our lives,
but in mine.

because my life isn't the same as yours.

we all have different jobs.
different families.
different friends.
different bus stops.
different grocery stores.
different churches.

so what does radical look like in my life?
what does it look like in your life?

in the last three days this verse in john has come to my attention twice.

"very truly i tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works i have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because i am going to the father." 
(john 14:12)

even.greater.things.

i think starting to live a radical life starts with this verse.

1. very truly i tell you.
tru-ly: used to emphasize emotional sincerity or seriousness. 
Jesus needs us to know that the next few words out of his mouth are meant to get our attention. they aren't words that He's just thought up, but words that need to be taken serious.
in other versions He says "most assuredly" (NKJV), "i tell you the truth" (NLT), "i assure you" (AB).

2. all who have faith in me.
faith: confidence or trust in a person. belief that is not based on proof. 
i've found that faith and trust go hand in hand. you can't believe in Jesus and not trust Him about your future. He's explaining here that this radical life we want, needs to start with having faith in Him and His will for your life. it's more than just believing in Christ, it's trusting in Him.

3. will do the works i have been doing.
works: effort directed to produce something
it's important to realize that Jesus isn't telling us to go around and walk on water, or raise people from the dead, or turn water into wine (hallelujah). because if He was...we've all failed miserably. the miracles that Christ performed were very important, but what was even more important was the number of souls He saved.

4. they will do even greater things than these, because i am going to the father. 
great{er}: unusually or comparatively large in size/number/degree/power/intensity
it took me a lot of prayer to understand what Jesus was saying here.
because how on earth was i going to follow the act with the guy who fed 5000 from a loaf of bread and one fish?
easy.
because unlike Christ, i get to tell people about what He did after His death. and who He has sent to me.
the best part about being a follower of Jesus is knowing that i'm not doing life alone, because He has sent His holy spirit to dwell within me.
our job here on earth is to bring the lost and dying souls of this world to the loving arms of Jesus. and this is what Jesus is talking about. the greater works that we'll do here on earth is pointing people to the risen Christ. the One who is waiting for them in heaven.

"every saved person this side of heaven 
owes the gospel to 
every lost person this side of hell." 
-radical

i'm not certain about a lot of things in my life.
but one thing that i have become certain of is the this idea of radical living.
if everything i do in my life, points back to the love of Christ, i'm living radically.

there's a lot in my life that i have to straighten out. and i'm sure it will take some time.

but starting has been the hardest part.

living a radical life for Jesus means that we realize we're no longer that important.
it's realizing that if we're just going to sit back 
and not spread the gospel and not share the love of Christ, 
we might as well not even believe in the guy who rose from the dead. 

in everything we do. we have to share the gospel and spread the love of Christ.

faith in Jesus leads to greater things. 

i think i'm in the middle of figuring out how to live this radical life and still seem normal to people.
i think that the reason Jesus was so successful in saving people was because first and foremost He never tried to make Himself better than the people He was around. He never had a sense of arrogance. He showed love.

i've come across a lot of people in my walk who when i've left them, made me feel like i wasn't a good enough Christian. i've been around people who have done nothing but quote scripture, who have made me feel like i don't even know what the bible is.
but i don't think that's what i want.

we live in a world that is slowly but surly coming to the end (don't believe me, read revelation).
it's no longer ok to even mention the name of God before someone gets affended. it's not ok to speak out about the issues of abortion or gay marriage because it comes off as being to judgemental.

so how do we get through to people?

love.


our words and actions all need to point back to Jesus. 
who is love. 

it's really ok that as a Christ follower you don't agree with the world right now. i sure as heck don't. but i'm learning that we need to pick and choose our battles. when we make comments on facebook or blogs that we don't agree with, are we using words of love. 

side note: stick up for what the Bible says is truth. not the world. (post for another time)

living a radical life starts with believing and trusting that God has more for your life than you could ever imagine. and then the rest is how we spend that life. 

have a beautiful sunday.

all my love, 
meg




this was written on sunday, but i'm linking up with kerrie from the williams post on tuesday!

Life Linkup

3 comments:

L said...

I really like these thoughts Meg!! You have a beautiful heart!! =) And you're totally right about needing to pick our battles!!
Much Love girl & thanks for writing this!
L

allglorious-within.blogspot.com

Erin James said...

love this. as usual!

i especially love what you said about "stick up for what the Bible says is truth. not the world."

amen sister. love you and your beautiful heart!

Kerrie Williams said...

what a GREAT post. So much truth. Thank you for linking up. Anyone who reads this will surely be encouraged.

 
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