Radical Read-Along Week 2!
Chapter Two starts off continuing the story of the underground believers we meet in Chapter One. Tell me, does anyone else feel as overwhelmingly guilty as I do while reading about the trials these folks go through just to assemble in Christ's name?
Did you drive/ride to church on Sunday in an automobile you found in your garage?
Did you wrestle your kids into clean garb, make sure their teeth and hair were brushed, and shoo them off into children's church?
Is your idea of a rough Sunday morning having to put your makeup on in the car while your husband drives over speed bumps at what seems like the speed of light?
Do you struggle to stay awake during the sermon because you stayed up too late watching TV the night before?
All of the above and more are true of me most, if not all, Sunday mornings. And, let me tell you...reading Radical has made me feel like a second-class Christian because of it. I don't fear for my life when I go to church. I can't leave my "fields" untended while I spend hours upon hours every day meeting with other believers. I truly do not believe that God has called me to sell all my worldly goods and move to a third-world country.
Do I believe that I'm too materialistic? Yep. Do I believe that I have a tendency to cut and paste scripture to suit my taste? Yep. Do I believe that I can (and should) do more for the poor of my area and the world? Absolutely. Do I seriously believe that, if my life depended on it, I could stand up and count myself among the followers of Christ? I hope to heaven I could.
If you sense a little indignation on my part, you'd be correct. While I think I understand what Platt's trying to get across here (namely, that the traditional sign-up-and-be-counted method of getting "saved" isn't necessarily all that's required of Christians), I bristle a little at the suggestion that since I live a privileged life in the United States, I'm not as "Christian" as those who aren't as fortunate. I certainly agree that our churches can water down the gospel so much that it's useless. But, I also think that there are plenty of opportunities to dig deep into the scriptures and commit to following God daily.
I'm interested to see where Platt takes us on this journey. Even though overwhelming guilt was my initial thought upon reading this chapter, I don't think that was his goal. I want to spend the next week really listening to God and discovering where He wants me to serve. Most importantly, I want to be willing to GO there, wherever that winds up to be.
I completely resonate with your feelings of guilt that have come from this book. I have to keep questioning myself as to what is Spirit-induced guilt and what is peer/Platt-pressure guilt. I want to seek direction from God above, but if some of my God-seeking is brought about by feeling guilty while reading Radical - that's fine, as long as it leads me to seek God more!
ReplyDelete"Do I believe that I'm too materialistic? Yep. Do I believe that I have a tendency to cut and paste scripture to suit my taste? Yep. Do I believe that I can (and should) do more for the poor of my area and the world? Absolutely. Do I seriously believe that, if my life depended on it, I could stand up and count myself among the followers of Christ? I hope to heaven I could." - YEP YEP YEP!
I started reading Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, before I read Radical...so I was already reminded of the lulling of our culture. I once heard someone call it a bad case of "affluenza". :)
ReplyDeleteI do struggle with this every day.... and one thing Francis Chan shared, about this same struggle, is that we will be like fish swimming upstream in our culture, to live radically for Jesus...even in our own churches.
Like you, I too am anxious to see where this journey goes and what God will do with it in me and my kids. :)
No, we must not suffer to be a true believer. However, we need to be willing - it sounds as if you are. I think we are being asked to place ourselves in the position of other cultures and examine our level of commitment.
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