Radical Obedience

When I've mentioned Radical before (which I realize that I've done a lot...sorry...kind of), a good many of you have mentioned that you've read it, or are currently reading it.  

So can I make you my own personal book club?  Ok?  Thanks.  

Each week after I do a chapter with my high school Bible Study girls, I'm going to post on here.  Thoughts, favorite parts, questions, prompts, etc.  I'd love for your input as well.

So, week one...here goes.

My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus’ words and walk away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to Him…satisfaction in our lives and success in the church are not found in what our culture deems most important but in radical abandonment to Jesus. (3)

 This is so true for me.  I just read this last night (it's way later in the book, but it applies...); in talking about searching for God's will in our lives...

The answer is clear.  The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel and the glory of God known among all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus.  The question, therefore, is not 'Can we find God's will?'  The questions is "Will we obey God's will?' (160)

 I have some more to say concerning that quote, but I'll wait until we actually get to that chapter.  Back to chapter one...

…we don’t want to believe it.  We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives.  So we rationalize these passages away…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…But do you realize what we are doing at this point?  We are molding Jesus into our image...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. (13)

 Have you thought about this?  The very way that we picture Jesus is American.  

Reality check: Jesus was not American.  

He was not white, with a clean, neatly trimmed beard & a white robe that looks like it'd just been bleached. 

We want to make Jesus fit into the American Dream, instead of throwing the American Dream out the window & transforming to look more like Him.  And that transformation requires radical obedience.

I'll end with these two quotes for today.

Do we really believe He is worth abandoning everything for? (18)

You have to say yes to the words of Jesus before you even hear them…The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflection; the gospel requires a response. (20-21)

images: 1, 2, 3