Radical is an absolutely great book! It totally woke me up and challenged me to rethink why I did things. This is a book that challenges Christians to be disciples of Jesus, not just people who want to be part of a cultural club. When I first read this book, It changed my life in so many positive ways. God definitely used it to wake me to my laziness and my desire for a comfortable christian life.
The only negative thing I see in this book, is that it has the potential to make someone (like me) feel as though Christianity calls for a holy lifestyle that means radical abandonment of everything not "Christian".
Before I knew it, I quit television, gaming, movies, Facebook, laughing, etc. anything that I thought was part of culture and not part of God's culture.
I wanted to be set apart. But in doing so, I put myself in a position where I could no longer relate to world around me, even the Christian world; I was pretty much a monk for a few months. But I was failing at giving up my life to God in these areas. And I was failing at being able to connect to the lost through a relatable lifestyle.
Through those mistakes though, God brought me around and I began to learn the balance. I'm learning how to live out the gospel as it is in the Bible, while still connecting with people in genuine ways and living & participating in our world and culture.
With that being said, this is still one of the best, and most inspiring, challenging books both Jess and I have ever read. It caused us to rethink our motives and purposes in life. It reminded us that the words and life of Jesus often don't line up with the "American dream" or the comfortable, easy version of Christianity that we tend to fall into sometimes. If you want a deeper relationship with Jesus, this is an amazing book to read.
--René
6 comments:
I totally agree! I loved reading this book. It really is challenging to the way that most American Christians live.
Agreed. With everything written here. I read it, felt so challenged, and I too felt these feelings. Not striving for the American Dream... and instead striving for Jesus, just Jesus is what I have tried to take away from that. My journey with Jesus will look incredibly different from your journey with Him. We just have to deeply strive to be near Him daily and let Him show us what he wants our life to look like! Thanks for sharing your heart!!
that sounds like a really great read. i need something to get me re-focused spiritually. i feel like i've fallen into a rut & just keep recycling the same old ideas around & around in my noggin. but that's good you were able to see its downfall too -- we can always use things like social media and our relationships towards God's end. i'm definitely considering picking this one up! thanks so much for sharing. xo.
I'm going to have to add this to my list. Right now I'm reading Spectacular Sins by John Piper.
ok ok. . . i've got to crack this book open. my husband and his best friend are reading it and now i've stumbled upon you reading it. it's a must read!
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