Over this summer, I read the book "Radical" by David Platt and I can honestly say that it changed my life, as it re-centered my faith in the Lord and has restored in me the confidence that this is the year the Lord is going to do amazing things.
The context of the book is that we as Christians are called to so much more than the "American Dream." Jesus did not come to teach us about 401K's and buying a nice house and being a two-car family and all the other things that the "American Dream" has taught us to idolize. Instead, Jesus came to tell us about persecution, carrying the cross, and going to all nations. There is nothing inherently wrong with the "American Dream," but when it overtakes our desire for Christ and our fear of living with radical abandonment, we have lost the mission Christ has given us.
For example, the ichthys (AKA the Jesus fish) used to be a sign used by persecuted Christians to show that they had met somewhere, a symbol left behind despite their fear of being found out and potentially killed for their faith. Today, it is a bumper sticker that many Christians put on their cars without knowing its origin. When I read this book, I was so convicted and stirred that I actually got the ichthys tattooed on my ankle, because I wanted to be reminded daily of the desire to be radical.
Being radical does not mean that we all drop everything and move to a foreign nation, but it does mean we open our hearts to the fact that that could be where the Lord calls us. It is praying the prayer the Lord taught me when I am scared to be used and show me what I need to abandon to you and where I need to be used radically.
The book ended with five steps to Living a Radical Year and challenges the readers to give it a year. Platt believes that this one year plan will dramatically change your life if you give it a chance. So, I've started my Radical Year and I have already seen dramatic changes in my life. The five Steps are as follows:
1. Read the whole Bible in one year
2. Pray for the whole world (He recommends the book "Operation World" which has a calendar and goes through every country and goes day by day. It gives you facts about each nation and prayer requests)
3. Get plugged into a church
4. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose (a large part of "Radical" talks about tithing and giving to the Lord and sacrificing. It can be small, but it should feel like a sacrifice—not the bare minimum
5. Spend time in another context (whether it's going on a mission trip or spending time with another socioeconomic group spend time serving other people and seeing another way of life)
I'm not perfect. I miss some days of my reading plan and I get behind on my countries, but I am loving this challenge and I can see my perspective changing. The biggest lesson is realizing the power of prayer and how it is mighty to speak words to the Lord praying for a country that I've never been to and have not heard a lot about. It is powerful to know that I am praying for real governments, for real poverty, and could be impacting real change. I believe that my words hold power—the power of the one who rose from death to life. Every night when I finish praying, I always pray for a Radical Year.
I truly believe that when I look back a year from now, I will see a new world, a world where Christianity is expanding in a way that seems unexplainable. I believe that the Holy Spirit will light people on fire for the Lord. I believe that justice will win this year. I believe that it will be a radical year. I encourage you to read this book and challenge yourself in ways that I never believed possible, and I urge you to join me in the prayer for a radical year. This is a year of change, and it starts within each one of us!
