Romans 4:20-21(NIV) tells us that Abraham, “did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Abraham was radical in his faith in God, and we must be as well. In society, when the word ‘radical’ is used to describe some Christians, it is almost always given a negative connotation, one that implies a state of being unbalanced, unintelligent, and weak. A radical is a person that advocates a total and complete change. They are sold-out to the cause. So, being radical for God is the exact opposite of being unbalanced, unintelligent, and weak. It is being exactly what our Heavenly Father requires.
Luke 10:25-(NLT) tells us, “25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”” This is the standard by which we are radical for God. We love Him with all our hearts, souls, strength, and minds according to the commandment of Christ. Therefore, to be radical for God means to live outside the world's standard. To them, Christians are not normal because we wholeheartedly believe and trust in a God we cannot see, but we should never place our attention on what the world thinks of us. It’s what we do for God that matters, and when we are fully committed and devoted to Him, He will reward our diligence.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, came to the earth to accomplish God’s mission to save us. He gave his life as a sacrifice to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus did this because he is passionate about us and loves us more than we know. Because of what God accomplished through Christ, we can love others with a Christ-kind of love because the Holy Spirit lives within us. Romans 5:5(NLT) says, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” This love is no ordinary love. It’s filled with passion for the well-being of others. We want them to be saved and given the gift of eternal life, just like us
A lordship is a title and position of governing power. Before we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we have tried to hold this position over our lives. We were the deciders of our choices and decisions, and many of them lead us down a disappointing and dark path. At some point, we recognize that trying to lord over our own lives isn’t the path of life, it’s a path of death and we need to get off it. Only Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, and King of kings. So, to be followers of Christ according to God’s Will, we must completely dethrone ourselves, because when we give our lives to Christ, we give Lordship over us to him.
There must be a willingness within us to move when God says “move” and to be still when God says, “be still”. This is a difficult task for most of us because we want to do what we want to do, but if we want to please our Heavenly Father, we must leave our agendas behind and latch on to His, because there is no other way to live an abundant life than to live it through His love. 1John 4:8 tells us that anyone who doesn’t know love doesn’t know God, and 1Corinthians 14:1 tells us that His love must be our highest goal. He’s the Leader and we’re the followers, and this will always and forever be the case. As new creations in Christ, we must turn from our former way of thinking, acting, speaking, and believing, and walk according to the example of Christ. We must share like he shared, give like he gave, and love like he loved. Compared to this dark and cold world, this is a radical way of living, and it’s everything!
This lukewarm business will not do. Many have adopted a lifestyle where they have one foot in the door and the other one out. They call themselves Christians, but they’re not enthusiastic about the things of God. They are not all in, and they don’t live according to God’s standards. Jesus Christ said in Revelation 3:16(NLT) “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” Jesus Christ is clearly telling us that he will not accept it when we try to serve the world and him too. He made it clear in Matthew 6:24 that we cannot serve two masters. We must make a choice and either we’re radical for God or radical for the world. Our Heavenly Father hopes we’ll choose to be radical and passionate for Him because this is the way He feels about us.
Society teaches us to be on fire for the world and lukewarm for our Heavenly Father. That’s not going to work. But, if we twist the narrative and become radical for God in our way of thinking, believing and behaving, we will step outside the world's box and fit in with God's kingdom! Wherever Jesus Christ is, we can be confident that this is where the real action is. It’s being on fire for God, and our passionate love for Him and His people makes us like Christ. This means that our faith is fueled with His unconditional, limitless love, and it also means that we are committed to cling to and uphold the standards of God’s Word.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
“Radical for God”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Comments