It's pretty clear from the Bible that God wants his people to be... different. From as far back as the exodus, His command to the Israelites was "You shall be holy because I am holy." (Lev. 11:44) Holiness, as describes in God's law, was certainly going to make them stand out among their neighbors, the way they ate, the way the dressed, the way they worshiped.... Essentially, this term, "holiness" translated into "different," even "weird" in every aspect of life for God's people as far as outsiders were concerned. "You shall be weird because I am weird!"
If you've talked to many 20-30 year-olds recently and asked them about their dreams, it's probable you heard the word "radical" in there somewhere. This word has been driving a generation to travel the globe, throw themselves over cliffs and off bridges (with bungee cords and squirrel suits) tattoo their entire bodies and all around, live life on terms quite different than former generations. In working with youth in training and equipping them for ministry and missions, I encounter this fiery spirit all the time, I love it, and can certainly see it in my own life as well. In our quest to be "radical" my generation has stumbled upon an old testament mandate, perhaps by accident, perhaps as part of God's plan to do something in the world on a global scale!
let's do something radical!
God has put this desire in hearts around the world, but as Christians, as leaders, as mentors, how can we focus and direct this passion towards His Kingdom purposes? In recent discussions, prayer times and pondering this question, I've come across some really neat insights from the word, and from other Christian leaders God has been speaking to about the same thing. One quote that really spoke to me by David Platt, author of a book called "Radical" (go figure) is "Faithfulness is the new radical." When I read that it hit me like a 2" x 4" This is the message my generation needs, not just preached at them, but demonstrated by leaders, older and younger in all walks of life.
One of the weakness of "radical" is that it tends to be drawn to "the next big thing" hopping from adventure to adventure, conference to concert to adrenaline rush to... you get the picture, and overlooking perhaps, the details that make it all worth it from an eternal perspective. I love an analogy shared with me recently about UCLA's Men's Basketball coach, John Wooden. The most successful NCAA coach in history, Wooden led his team to 10 National championships, including 7 in a row, and won a record 88 consecutive victories. Wow, world records and championships are something a generation bent on "radical" can get excited about!
Here's the part that struck me: One of Wooden's coaching techniques started the first day of practice with his new players. He would gather them together, before any practice, and give them each a pair of unfolded socks. "All right gentlemen, your first lesson in Basketball from me is how to properly fold your socks." I imagine there were a lot of confused looks going around in that circle until he went on to explain: "If you don't know how to fold your socks, they may get wrinkles, if your socks are wrinkled it could result in blisters, if you have blisters you won't be able to practice to your full ability. Bad practice could result in one bad play that could be avoided, that play could cost us a game and that game may be the difference between winning it all and going home empty handed!" Talk about real life application of faithfulness and attention to the small things being part of doing something radical! Here's a team with the greatest legacy in sports history, and the difference between them and all the other teams may be as small as their method of folding socks!
you never know what folding your socks can do...
"champions are made, not born."
In living as a missionary for the past 11 years, I can say I have found this principle to be true. It's easy to get caught up in movements where miracles are happening, or to be looking ahead to the next time and place a certain speaker is talking or worship band is playing, but what we do in the times between those things ultimately determines whether we live radical lives or not. Just like folding socks positioned UCLA to have an edge over the competition, our small obedience over time in the same direction, towards God's call on our lives, could be the difference between truly experiencing "radical" or just dying our hair bright colors a couple of times. Nothing against hair dye, it looks radical :-) but it probably won't make you feel radical unless it is part of a life rooted in much more.
Simple applications to living life with "faithfulness being the new radical:" Quiet times. Maybe 1 in 10 quiet times feel radical, maybe 1 in 100, but spiritually they prepare us for divine appointments, small or large God may be leading us to. Offering to pray for a person who is sharing a need, frustration, hurt or fear. Maybe this will result in instant salvation, physical healing, revival and possibly usher in the 2nd coming of Christ, most likely, the person will say thanks, and walk away with no visible change. You may never see them again, but you've been obedient to a Biblical mandate on a believer's life, and you will not know the domino effect that prayer might have in that person's life, and others around them until you stand in heaven and see history from God's perspective.
I like to think of the example of King David. We call him King David, but he wasn't born a king. The youngest of Jesse's sons, David had lots of crossroads in his life that prepared him to be a king. "Oh yeah! He fought lions and bears, giants and armies, he did lots of 'radical' things!" Yeah but I bet there were lots more days just sitting and watching sheep than there were fighting lions. He also spent a good amount of time hiding in caves, working for his dad and practicing music on his lyre. If he had said "watching sheep is boring, let someone else do it," he wouldn't have faced lions or bears. If he hadn't said "Ok dad, I'll take the groceries to my brothers," (I Sam 17) he would not have been there to fight Goliath. And if he hadn't had the patience and obedience to hide in caves and say "I will not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed," he would never have been the king God wanted him to be.
Don't wait for a giant to stand in front of you to be radical!
Want a radical life? Try looking at every minute as an opportunity to be radically obedient to God. Consider that quiet times might me radical nourishing times that prepare you to minister to others. Wonder if perhaps baby-sitting for $5 per hour might be training God has put in your life to mentor masses, lead companies or administer justice from a position of authority. Pulling weeds, washing cars, taking out the trash, what amazing opportunities for God's kingdom could tasks like these be? I can tell you that they never will be if we rush through them half-heartedly with our eyes on the next big thing, but if we approach them as opportunities to be obedient to God, you never know.
King in the making
"...With God all things are possible."~ Matthew 19:26
Andrew Greenplate