I have just started reading Radical by David Platt. Two chapters down, several more to go. I'm not necessarily going to talk as much about the book at this point as I am about the idea of the word Radical. I've decided this semester to let the theme word for my talks with high schoolers and middle schoolers be the word Radical. Sometimes my talks are based on a particular book, book in the bible, or theme. For the first time, I'm letting just one word be the thread for my talks. The particular definition I'm using is "very different from the usual or traditional." The point? Jesus lived radically and calls us to live radically different from the world. Last night at HUB we discussed Romans 12:1-2 "And so, dear brothers and sisters,I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Things of focus:
1. God wants us to give our bodies, our lives to him, completely because of all that He has done for us. I shared about how much I HATE wasting time. Literally, hate it. If I feel like I've wasted time or part of my day it just completely puts me in a funk. It's because I'm doing things for me. I'm living life according to me - and not giving my days and time to the Lord.
2. I want to live a life that's extraordinary. I don't want to just have an ordinary life. I don't want it to be predictable. Whether it's ordinary or extraordinary - This doesn't come from the things we do or have. It's not based on how much money we have or don't have, how great of a career we have or don't have, how great or not great our grades are, etc. It comes completely from why we do what we do and who we do it for. If we do things for ourselves, or the approval of others, or for fame/glory...it will all disappoint. If I do them for the Lord, if I am motivated by my relationship with Him, all other things will fall into place. If I start and end my day with my eyes fixed on Jesus...my day goes from ordinary to extraordinary.
3. God wants to transform each one of us into a new person by changing the way you think. He wants to change the focus from ourselves and the world to him. He wants to transform us into who he created us to be. The more we know Him, the more we know our true selves. The more we allow him to transform us, the more our lives move from ordinary to extraordinary.
All of these things are radical: very different from the usual or traditional. The world tells you to live life for yourself. The world tells you to take charge of your own destiny. Deny yourself? Get a bigger picture than yourself? Give your life to Christ? It's radical - it's not what the world tells you will bring you satisfaction. But guess what...the world lies. There is only one truth, one origin for satisfaction, one source for real and life-giving joy - Jesus Christ. It's a New Year - instead of making resolutions to "be better" why not fix our eyes on the one who came to bring us life to the full.
Here's the video I showed last night. It's of Tom Brady - 3 time Super Bowl winner. 2 time MVP of the Super Bowl. He should have it all, right? Then why his question at the end? When the commentator asks him - So what's the answer? - I would refer back to our verse, Romans 12:1-2.
Tom Brady Interview
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