Radical

This is an except from the book “Radical” by David Platt (pg 111)…

We look back on slave-owning church goers of 150 years ago and ask, “How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?” I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in America today and ask, “How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes? How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn’t have food and water? How could they go on with their lives as though billions of poor didn’t even exist?”

Is materialism a blind spot in American Christianity today? More specifically, is materialism a blind spot in your Christianity today? Surely this is something we must uncover, for if our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to question just how effective we will be in declaring the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth. More pointedly, if our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to wonder if Christ is really in us at all.

The Lord has been dealing with us in this area for the past couple of years and especially in the past couple of weeks.  The words in this book knocked me off my feet today…literally. Part of me cannot wait to read the rest of this book and part of me is scared to death to read it. I’ll keep you posted.