Why is it Radical?

I think that is a question that we should all ask ourselves.  I was recently going through the book "Radical" by David Platt for the second time. This time it struck me more so than the first.  This time I realized that I no longer care what is considered the norm.  I want to please God. I want to be obedient to Him in ways that challenge everything I know.  I want EVERYTHING to be about Him. I am talking total and complete reckless abandon of life as I know it so that I might be a slave to Christ.

I have felt for a while that the USA is loosing (or has lost) the favor of God. If you don't understand what that means, I urge to dig through the stories of Kings and Kingdoms in the Old Testament.  Those who had favor won wars, had their needs met and many of their wants met. Those who did not lost mercilessly.

At the end of this book David Platt  issues an experimental challenge.  There are simply five things that you must do.

1) Pray for the World -  He gives you more specific guidelines but nothing changes a heart like prayer.

2) Read the Bible through in one year.  Ask yourself, is it possible to go to church multiple times per week and not know the Bible? Most of us need not look beyond ourselves to know the answer is yes.

3) Give sacrificially. This needs to be more than is comfortable and in such a way that it aids the spread of the Gospel.

4)  Spend time outside your home plate ministering. Just a small commitment but step away from where you live.

5) Commit yourself not just to a church but to a multiplying community of believers. The key to this is that people are being saved and growing.  This is not about filling the seats.

Reading through this book, it goes into so much detail and you can then understand why each part of the experiment is critical.  But I ask, why is this RADICAL?  Why is it not the norm?

For me and maybe for others, I believe I have an answer.  It is because we do not focus on God.  It should ALL be about Him.  I think (hope) that most who call themselves Christian worship God, pray, and attend church.  But I realized that often my prayer or worship is based on what I hope to gain. I want to feel His presence more than anything.  I want to be overwhelmed with His love. I want Him to control my life and make it pleasant.  But look. . . that is still all about me. So I asked myself, "Is it true worship, if I am thinking about how I will feel when God acknowledges me at His thrown.' Wow, this is hard.  Die to self. To fully worship, love and serve. . .I must fully die to self.

I urge you if this rings true for you to get this book asap.  Let us as believers give God all that we can of ourselves. How much of yourself will you give to the one who gave you everything? Let's get radical!