I ran across this simple, but brilliant YouTube of Francis Chan.
Such a basic illustration but it goes hand-in-hand with the Radical series. I have to admit, it made me question my outlook on my life right now.
May He Increase!
Today, my 17 year old stepson graduates from high school.
It’s an achievement. It’s been a long road for all of us. There were times when we wondered if we’d see this day arrive the way it has, but we give all glory to God for what He has brought him through.
First I wanted to express my admiration and gratitude to my wife who, two years ago, took the huge responsibility of home-schooling my stepson for his last two years of high school. When we first started looking into the various options, I have to admit that I couldn’t understand how she was going to do it. It wasn’t so much a reflection upon her teaching abilities it was my own lack of how home-schooling worked. I’m married to a courageous and strong woman. She took this responsibility upon her shoulders and plunged into it.
But today it’s about my stepson, Jori. I wanted to take this post to share some thoughts on this momentous occasion in his life.
There’s a great song by Carl Anderson called “If I Could.” It’s a song from a father’s perspective about how he wishes he could shield his child from life’s travails and teach him “all the things [he] never learned.”
If I could
I’d protect you from the sadness in your eyes
Give you courage, in a world of compromise
Yes I wouldIf I could
I would teach you all the things I never learned
And I’d help you cross the bridges that I burned
Yes I wouldIf I could
I would try to shield your innocence from time
But the part of life I gave you isn’t mine
I watched you grow
So I could let you goIf I could
I would help you make it through the hungry years
But I know that I could never dry your tears
But I would
If I couldIf I live
In a time and place where you don’t want to be
You don’t have to walk along this road with me
My yesterdays don’t have to be your waysIf I knew
I’d have tried to change the world I brought you to
But there isn’t very much more that I can do
But I would
If I couldYou know I would
If I could
I love you, Jori. I hope you know that. And I know that Almighty God has a big plan for your life.
If I could, I would tell you to trust Him no matter what, especially in the dark days to come. Jesus is your shield, your firm foundation . . . your very life. Love him, serve Him with everything you are capable of.
Who can say what lies ahead? God only knows. If I could, I would have trusted in Him at the age you are right now. Instead I turned away and wandered for so many sad, hopeless years. Don’t make that same mistake. Life is too short and time too precious to waste. Make the most of every opportunity to give glory to God.
Congratulations on finishing your high school years strong. I knew you could do it. You have what it takes because you have Jesus.
Love,
Joe
[This is part of the Radical Series. Have you seen the other posts yet?]
I’m a little behind in my reading of Radical. As a result, I thought I’d change up the series a little and let David Platt do some of the talking.
Thoughts on the video?
[This is part of the Radical Series. Have you seen the other posts yet?]
May He Increase!
If you really want to get “Radical,” you can click below:
[This is part of the Radical Series. Have you seen the other posts yet?]
I have to confess: when I’m watching TV and one of those commercials come on about starving kids somewhere in the world, I don’t give it a second thought; I turn the channel. I don’t view these commercials any differently than I would a breakfast cereal commercial.
Then I read this from David Platt’s Radical:
Today more than a billion people in the world live and die in desperate poverty. They attempt to survive on less than a dollar per day. Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars per day. That’s nearly half the world struggling today to find food, water, and shelter with the same amount of money I spend on french fries for lunch. More than twenty-six thousand children today will breathe their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease.”
The UNICEF website has a plethora of stats on the state of the world’s children. Check it out.
In looking for a graphic to include with this post, I ran across this one.
This picture haunts me for a few reasons. First, the child looks terrified or at least worried. But most of all, he looks like my own son, Nicholas.
There have been times in his first three and-a-half years where due to miscommunication between my wife and I, Nick has gone without really eating a full meal for an extended period of time. When I’ve realized this, it makes me feel like a failure as a parent and it breaks my heart.
Now magnify that feeling by Platt’s twenty-six thousand children figure!
We don’t let our own children starve unless it’s out of sheer neglect. What about the innocents in the rest of the world who are truly going hungry? What will future generations say of us who are letting generations of children starve?
What will Jesus say!
In chapter six of Radical, Platt hammers home this point. It’s caused me to look at my situation and realize that this is a huge “blind spot” for me. My family and I really need to deeply and prayerfully look at our role in this and what we can do to play a part in making a difference in people’s lives.
It’s been many years since I’ve been to places where there is extreme poverty. The last time–shamefully, I admit–was when I was a pre-teen and visited an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico.
Have you been convicted of this in the past? Have you been to areas of extreme poverty and were profoundly changed? What was your experience?
[This is part of the Radical Series. Have you seen the other posts yet?]
May He Increase!
If you really want to get “Radical,” you can click below:
[This is part of the Radical Series. Have you seen the other posts yet?]
One of the passages of Scripture that has recently captivated me is John 6:70:
“Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” –John 6:70.
It’s one of Jesus’ statements on his discipleship policy, so to speak. Knowing all things, He chose to spend the majority of His time on earth with 12 men, one of whom was a . . . devil? Amazing.
Chapter 5 of David Platt’s Radical deals with Jesus’ commandment to us to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). I think a lot of us Christians translate this statement into “make converts of all the nations.” We may not even be aware of this but there is a very big difference between the two.
Platt says:
The megastrategy of Jesus: make disciples.
If someone were to ask you what it means to “make disciples of all the nations,” what would you say? What do you think it means?
Prior to reading chapter 5, I think I had a vague idea but I’m not sure I could have put it into a well-thought-out answer. And yet, the gospels tell us about Jesus and His 12. Could it be that we try to make it more complicated than it ought to be?
Platt is correct: it’s not easy. It’s not quick-fix. It certainly doesn’t happen over-night. Making disciples takes time, energy, patience, sacrifice, and most of all, love. There are no formulas and there are no short-cuts.
But guess what? The pay off is incalculable.
Platt tells of his experience in the French Quarter of Louisiana, known for it’s disparate demographics from Christian to voodoo. His group set up a table right next to “the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans” and would share the gospel with everyone that approached the desk. They would do this day-after-day, week-after-week. They began building relationships with the people.
One by one, homeless men and women began coming to faith in Christ . . . I recently went back to New Orleans and ran into one of the men from the Quarter who had trusted in Christ and had been baptized in the church. With tattoo-covered arms, he gave me a bear hug and said, “David, I want you to know that I’m now leading the homeless ministry in the French Quarter.”
Because of their witness and discipleship, they were able to raise up a new leader for the homeless ministry in New Orleans. Who can know how many more people will give their lives to Christ as a result?
What has been your experience with discipleship? Has someone discipled you? Have you discipled someone else and saw the fruit of this? Please share in the comments!
[This is part of the Radical Series. Have you seen the other posts yet?]
May He Increase!
If you really want to get “Radical,” you can click below:
