Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Radical Question

I’m reading The Radical Question, What is Jesus Worth to You? by David Platt.

I’d like to share a little with you:
When we see a Biblical picture of Jesus, we realize that the greatness of who He is demands the surrender of all we are and have. Yet we are tempted to give Him less than He deserves. Instead of a radical devotion to Christ, we so easily settle for nominal devotion to Him while we indulge ourselves in other pursuits. We are captivated by the American dream. Told at every turn to believe in ourselves, trust in ourselves, and promote ourselves, we work to gain it all: a comfortable life, a good career, a decent family, and an easy retirement. Sure, we tack church attendance onto the end of everything, but at the core our lives are consumed with a dream of success, security, safety, and satisfaction in all this world has to offer.
But what if there is another way? What if we were created for a much greater purpose? What if we were created not to advance ourselves, but to deny ourselves? What if Jesus is worthy of more in our lives than a Christian spin on the American dream? And what if there is greater, more lasting success, security, safety, and satisfaction that can be found only in radical devotion to Him?...

It’s easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said His followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, Jesus said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for Him. They would abandon everything for the gospel [Luke 9]. They would take up their crosses daily… But who do you know who lives like that? Do you?
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Now, that is a question.

1 comment:

  1. OK, I am reading your posts backwards, so Platt's book is sounding a lot like the one listed on Ann's blog, but I don't think it is the same one.

    Sounds like a very challenging read.

    K

    ReplyDelete