I read Radical by David Platt during two of the weeks that I was faced with some big decisions about my participation on the Race. The cool thing was that I didn't choose this book. It was given to me to read for my internship program at Mariners Church at just the right time… The news from my rheumatologist is that I can't take one of my primary medications for Rheumatoid Arthritis on the Race with me. When I found this out I was left, once again, in confusion over whether or not this was God's will for me or just my own crazy idea. Is it "wise" to go on the Race at the potential risk of my health? Here's what David Platt says…
"…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 friendships so that he receives all the affection. 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 danger altogether. A Jesus who brings 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."
…and I agree.
God moves and works in and through our lives best when we see him for who he is…A BIG God who is just waiting for us to actually live as though he is who he says he is…God. In the Bible we read about this God who created the universe, who created us, who does miracles, who conquers death and who tells us to follow him, regardless…and yet we live lives that often don’t even begin to tap in to the resources that are ours because of his dwelling in us. This is why I'm going. Regardless. I believe he is who he says he is and that he will sustain and provide for me.
