[11] therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. but what we are is known to God, and i hope it is known also to your conscience. [12] we are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. [14] for if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. [2 corinthians 5:11-13]
radical.
radical comes in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and convictions.
i was radical in my actions concerning basketball when i was 12-18. i literally lived, ate, dreamed, practiced, talked, strategized and played basketball every waking minute of my life. to my parents, to my friends, to most people – that was radical – i was radical.
bob dylan was an musician, poet, song-writer who changed the face of pop music. he changed it not because he was a super talented singer or musician. matter of fact, he was average to below average at both – but he was a genius with words, lyrics, that captured a generation. he showed that you could impact a whole generation with words even more than sound. substance mattered. that was radical. he was a radical.
steve job changed the way we communicate. he took a simple idea and forever changed what we think of when we hear the word “apple.” he pushed the envelope and stretched what was thought to be possible. he was horrible with people, but he was a genius with technology and ideas and because of that – we all communicate, work, and see each other through devices called laptops, pads, and mobile phones. what he did to our world of communication was radical. he was a radical.
timothy mcveigh was a u.s. army veteran and a “patriot” by his own description. he was an average guy from an average town who did a very evil thing. on april 19, 1995, he blew up the front half of the federal building in oklahoma city killing 168 men, women, and children and injuring 684 others. he had a radical belief that the united states could only be changed for the good, by doing something bad. he did something radical. he was a radical.
radical
radical comes in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and convictions – and not all of them are good or godly, some are very evil.
if you are looking to wear the badge of “radical” to honor God, may i give you a truth from the word that the Holy Spirit of God spoke through pastor marc last night. (if you didn’t hear the sermon, powerful. – listen here.) here is the truth:
being radical is not the goal of a Christian. radical is how the world will see you if your identity is consumed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. but, that is not how God sees you. he sees you as HIS REDEEMED – his son, his daughter, redeemed by the blood of his Son, forever his. you are not radical to him. we are all the same. we are his, his beloved redeemed.
the goal of your life is not to be radical – but to live in your identity as his redeemed. the world may call you crazy – so they did Jesus. the world my call you a fool – so they did Jesus. but if they do, may it be because you are living as his redeemed.
walk in this truth today as you hear the Father speak over you – “my redeemed!”
[4] but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to REDEEM those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] and because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” [7] so you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. [galatian 4:4-7]
~ john ryan