Quite Radical: Worth Losing Everything

This is post is based on David Platt's revolutionary book "Radical." Credit to Pr. David Platt for the quotes in this blog, various points that I have taken from him, and the inspiration behind everything else. This blog post covers chapter one, "Someone Worth Losing Everything For."

Stop following Jesus.

Oh, don't worry--not THAT Jesus. Not the one that holds the little sweet lambs. Not the one that stands smiling in the back of the Thomas Kinkade painting on your wall. Not the one that just wants you to have your "best life now."

No. We're talking about the real Jesus.
And you should stop following him unless you're serious about it.

Why? Because the real Jesus is the one that tells you to "pick up your cross and follow." The real Jesus tells you to "Let the dead bury their own dead and come follow." The real Jesus isn't particularly interested in coming up with the best gimmicks to get you to stick around with him. Author David Platt put it this way:

"Jesus apparently wasn't interested in marketing himself to the masses. His invitations to potential followers were clearly more costly than the crowds were ready to accept, and he seemed to be okay with that."

Platt goes on to discuss Jesus' illustration of the man who sells everything to buy a field--a field that the man knows has an invaluable treasure buried in it. To everyone else, he looks like an idiot. But because he knows what is there in that field, he is the wisest man on earth.

It's a challenge--but it's more than just a challenge to think about and then move on. Platt reminds us to "not just ask 'What is he [Jesus] saying?' but also ask 'What shall I do?" Everything Jesus calls us to do is important...and we cannot re-define it to suit ourselves better (as Platt explains elsewhere).

Not everything Jesus commands us to do is comfortable. Personally, I would rather stay here in America and be comfortable, than to take my future family into a place that makes me uncomfortable. I'd rather steer away from any place that I think may pose a danger to them, or that may make me squirm. That's not easy.

But if God has called us to a place, we better go. That applies whether it is to stay here in America or to leave this nation and go elsewhere. Even somewhere uncomfortable.

Not everything Jesus commands us to do is comfortable. But it is worth it to follow Jesus.

He is "worth losing everything for."

Killing Suicide: Fighting the War of Blood

Screenshot from  http://www.sixbillionsecrets.com/category/17/Self-esteem/14?rightKey 

Six billion secrets.


Most of the time we don't see the baggage people are carrying--even the people we call our closest friends. As humans, we tend to throw our extra luggage in the trunk. We cover it up with a smile or an application of makeup. And no one ever sees it.

Or so we think.

Websites like "Six Billion Secrets" have shown me one thing: everyone hurts. There are countless stories of people...kids...dealing with depression, self-esteem issues, self-mutilation, and suicidal tendencies. You can't help but feel for them. You can't help but cheer on the kids that find little things to get themselves through the day--like a pint of ice cream or watching their favorite television show.

Anything that can give them relief. Even for an hour.

But people can be downright cruel. Parents that expect their children to live out the dreams the parents failed to achieve. Guys that take advantage of their girlfriends, and gals that are willing to sell their bodies to the highest bidder. People that are expected by society to have the "perfect" body...the same bodies that are photoshopped, edited, and airbrushed on magazine covers. Bullies and strangers that pick out the weakest and most vulnerable and exploit them with verbal and physical abuse. One can hardly blame these victims from resorting to something to dull their pain.

The problem is, however, the "something" should not be an option.

Everyone you pass in your day-to-day activities has their own "something." And more often than we'd like to think about, that "something" is causing harm to themselves. Cutting their wrists. Anorexia or bulimia. Suicidal thoughts. Debilitating depression. There is so much pain--and the age kids are starting these blood-stained outlets for pain is getting younger and younger.

Think about that the next time you pass someone at work that looks frustrated. Or the next time you see someone in the grocery store that looks perfectly happy. You have no idea what they are going through or the facade of happiness they may be putting on. No one shows the baggage that they carry.

But if and when you get a glimpse of that baggage, remember it. And help them unload it.

That's where organizations that help fight depression and suicide are so inspirational. They inspire me to take a stand against the "epidemic of blood" that has surged through today's kids. As a media student, I can't help but imagine using podcasts and videos to help fight the war on self-harm. It's not a lot, but it is something I can do.

And the best news is, we don't have to do it alone. We don't have to fight this war alone. Those kids don't have to fight their internal demons alone. For them, there are countless organizations to help, phone hotlines to call, people to confide in, and counselors to talk to.

Plus, it helps to have a God that can make those demons shudder.

So remember all this the next time you have any interaction with someone. Think about what they might be carrying around with them--even if you can't see it. Pay attention long enough and you will.

And as for the war, we'll keep fighting until everyone can visit another favorite website of mine:

Screenshot taken from  http://www.givesmehope.com/

A website known as "Gives Me Hope."

Personal Reflection

"I'm never going to heal from this."

There are some things in life that we don't know what to do with. We're torn within ourselves. Half of us is ready to forget the past and move on. The other half of us wants to wait for restoration. Meanwhile, both halves want to know just which of those options are supposed to be acted upon.

This is summed up in Paulo Coelho's now-famous quote: "Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering." The Brazilian author nailed it on the head. Often we find ourselves not sure whether we are supposed to forget the people from our past, or wait for them to return.

And even more often, we're not sure which option we even want.

Anyone that has been following me in the past two months via the social network knows that I'm coming out of a long-term relationship that suddenly screeched to a halt. It's been like going through hell not being able to talk to my close friend, whom I had talked to every day for a year and a half. But you know what they say about going through hell.

Keep going.

But that's the problem, I guess. Right now, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Part of me wants to forget everything about this person. I suppose that's why every last freaking memory of her is shoved in the top of my dresser drawer. But as far as the rest of me...most of me, even?

Most of me wants to wait for her to come back.

I don't know if they will. I don't know if they still care. I sent an email on Sunday afternoon, trying to lay out  the places I went wrong, and how I have been growing in God's grace and maturity...some incredible steps, though it is a lifelong process. Yet it is so hard to wait for a response...to wait to see if I'm supposed to forget her or wait for her. And the bigger problem is that, no matter the response, I'll still not be sure what to do.Why not?

Because, as much as we've both been hurt...I still love her.

And love never fails.