Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Radical? Or Normal?

The book of Acts provides us with the historical account of the early church and the growth and movement of Christianity from its beginnings in Jerusalem. As I examine the pattern of the early church though I'm afraid our American Christianity fails to resemble the radical lifestyle that was being exhibited by our early Christian brothers and sisters. But was their lifestyle really radical? Passages like Acts 2:42-47 describe a group of people who were "doing life" together...they were selling their possessions so they could use the money to take care of each other. II Corinthians 8 describes a body of believers that were striving to live at the same economic level and were using their excess money to take care of others who were in need. The life they were living was reflected by an intense love for other people, to the point that they were willing to suffer financially if need be to provide for the needy. Radical? Maybe. But the more I read, the more I feel this was the normal response, the normal attitude of someone who had truly experienced the resurrected Christ. Scripture seems to indicate a radical transformation being the norm for those who follow Christ in regards to how they view the things of this world. In fact, I John 2:15 says that continual love for worldly things is a sign that someone has never truly been saved. Radical? Only to the lost. The life Acts describes for a Christian...a total abandonment of worldly possessions and pursuits of fleshy things for the sake of the Gospel was the normal average calling for a Christ follower. This type of lifestyle was not reserved for the extreme Chrisitan, it wasn't reserved for the over the top Christian, it wasn't reserved for someone who had gotten saved early in life and later down the road decided they wanted to make a bigger commitment. It was the average, normal calling for a Christ follower. In fact those who were not willing to turn their back on the things of this world were also unwilling to follow Christ. Luke 18 describes a rich young ruler who, because of his great wealth and possessions, turned his back on following Christ. Jesus' words are true, you cannot serve both God and money. A choice must be made. A true decision to follow Christ always leads to a transformed view of money. Zacchaeus experienced this radical transformation in Luke 19 where he gives half his money away to poor people and then gives back 4x what he had stolen. Radical? Or just the normal average response of experiencing Christ? Matthew 25 shows just how serious of an issue this is. Here we are told that when Christ returns all peoples and nations will be divided into two groups, with each having a different eternal destination. The criteria used for dividing the groups will be on the basis of how one took care of people in need. The implication? A true follower of Christ is one who truly seeks to provide for those in need by giving of his money...his time...his life. On that day that type of life won't be reserved for the radical Christian...it will define the true Christian.

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