Bethany G. Davis

Radical.

I’ve read Radical before.

David Platt wrote an absolutely incredible book that has challenged my view of the gospel and the way I want to live my life.

(I read it over a long weekend last March. I couldn’t put it down.)

But I’m reading it again.

Sure, reading a book a second time isn’t necessarily a big deal. I’m not going to say that I’m one of those one-and-done people — simply because I’m not. I enjoy re-reading books.

That being said, I’m at a crossroads. And THAT is why I’m re-reading Radical — not merely for enjoyment.

In three months, I’ll graduate from Michigan State University. On Friday, May 4, 2012, I will hear my name, walk across a stage, receive a blank sheet of paper symbolizing a diploma, shake a few hands, wave to my family, and then _____.

I don’t know what I’ll do after graduation. The possibilities seem endless. Quite frankly, that’s both freeing and terrifying.

I want to figure out NOW how to obey the radical call of Jesus. The cost of discipleship is much lower now (as a single, career-less 21-year-old without many material possessions) than it will be in the future.

For those of you who haven’t read Radical, I wouldn’t suggest doing so unless you’re serious about wanting to acknowledge and respond to the claims of Jesus Christ. Here’s a taste:

I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves. (p. 7)

He was simply and boldly making it clear from the start that if you follow him, you abandon everything—your needs, your desires, even your family. (p. 10)

We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with…. We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, we may be worshiping ourselves. (p. 13)

The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflection, the gospel requires a response. In the process of hearing Jesus, you are compelled to take an honest look at your life, your family, and your church and not just ask, “What is he saying?” but also ask, “What shall I do?” (pp. 20–21)

I’m so small, but I serve the Infinite One.