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I remember when I put a "JESUS IS LORD" license plate on the front of my vehicle. That was the most daring thing I'd done for the cause of Christ up to that point. I felt as if I was really making a bold statement of my Christian faith. I could imagine demons scurrying to get out of my way as I drove down the highway. They wanted no part of this. I had become "radical" for Christ.
Maybe that's the the dynamic at work. One's sense of "radical Christianity" is completely relative. Small steps seem bold. Little things seem big. Thinking is conditioned by our past: past teaching, past activities, past relationships. That's entirely understandable. I remember being told that man would NEVER step foot on the moon. Who could have once imagined computers sitting in every home with access to outside sources around the world readily accessible with a simple click of a button? Now, many, if not most, homes have multiple computers with multiple internet accounts and people are communicating around the globe for free (so far). Now, it seems not so radical to own a computer or a surround sound home theater system or cell phones that go with us wherever we go. But, once, this was all pretty unimaginable. At one time, thinking like this would have been considered radical. Now, especially to our kids, its no big deal. Boring stuff. It would now seem somewhat radical to not own a computer, wouldn't it?
Whenever I teach a witnessing class, I usually don't stop to consider how radical this is to the average Christian. Being involved in witnessing for quite a few years causes me to forget how impossible it would have been for me to "go out there" just a few years earlier. When people express to me their fear of witnessing, I have to try to recall those feelings, myself, to feel any sympathy toward their position. What has become easier for me is, still, extremely difficult for someone new to the idea. What seems not so radical to me is unimaginatively radical to someone else.
I remember the first few concerts that we, Concerts for Christ, promoted. Man, that was going out on a limb. We could feel the electricity in the air and sense good and evil forces as they made war over each concert. We held prayer vigils and meetings to be sure all was covered. We would come under attack from the enemy and could actually physically feel spiritual warfare as it swirled around us. We were doing something that had NEVER been done - bringing contemporary Christian music into our county. Then, we began to bring in rock-n-roll Christian music. Wow! Was that radical or what? Now, not only were we fighting the forces of evil, even our brethren were taking stands against us. Sometimes, we felt a little like Gideon. (It's a great feeling when the only person on your side is God!)
Now, after 40 or so concerts, 11 dinner presentations taking on Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuality, atheism, Islam, etc., and bringing in another radical Christian like Bob Larson, it no longer seems such a big deal. Why? Promoting concerts has become fairly common and we have become accustomed to doing what we do. Just like its not as big a deal as I once thought to put a "JESUS IS LORD" license plate on my vehicle. That small step now seems small. Relatively speaking, it was a small step but gigantic at the time and very necessary if the Lord were to use me in the way that He wanted. That "radical" step has led to more and more radical steps. Some day, where I'm at today will seem not so radical.
So it is. The church, as a body, functions just like individuals function. The thinking of the church as to what is and isn't radical is relative. Small things may seem like big things. Small activities may feel like radical activities. Both solely determined by what we are accustomed to. Some tend to fear being radical. Understandable, considering the funny looks you can get. Just try introducing a new idea and you'll see what I mean. "We've never done that before!" will, no doubt, be the response you'll get. So, we do what we do all the days of our lives without ever looking beyond the norm. We never think outside the norm. We never even think to think outside the norm. We go about our Christian lives clinging to the safety of our past experiences. We're much more concerned about earning our Sunday School attendance pin than winning the world to Christ. We resist being stretched. We resist being bold in the Lord. We stay in one place, spiritually, and that is as big as we want to think.
God wants to do radical things. To do this, He needs people unafraid to entertain, and act on, radical unctions from the Holy Spirit. We don't have to become President of the United States to affect the world. Affecting our neighbor, our co-workers, our families, our city, and our county will suffice for now. (That is, until we can begin to think a little more radically.) Someday, affecting your county will seem such a small thing. Let's think big thoughts and dream big dreams and make big goals. Jesus was the biggest radical of his day. In fact, he was the most radical person the world has ever seen - God becoming man in order to die for man. Like was reported about the apostles in the book of Acts and at the beginning of this article, let's "turn the world upside down"!
Let "Let it begin with me" be our attitude.
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