Radical-Self Abandonment

I have been reading Radical by David Platt (thanks to my friend Wendi and the Lord for blessing me). Before this I was reading Revolution in Missions by KP Yohanan. Before this my heart was stirring for missions related ideas. Actually God has been working on my heart in terms of missions for about 4 years now. It started in Spartanburg and was fueled intensely once arriving to Thomasville. Our church is heavily involved in mission work around the world. We have friends that are missionaries in Kenya and I went on my first overseas mission trip last summer to Romania. These are very minor details compared to all that God is doing in my heart. He has worked more there than I have even been able to notice. However, I'm seeing more and more what He has been up to. I feel a radical change happening in me.

There have been many ways that I have felt like a radical person, one who does things different than the world would expect or accept. But, as God has been slowly revealing to me (thank goodness for His patience) the truths of His word I am now realizing that there's not much radical living in our lives afterall. Sure, I homeschool, which automatically labels me as odd, abnormal, and cultish (not sure that's a word). I do not work though I have a degree as an RN.
I actually enjoy my kids and my husband more than anyone else on the earth and I rarely want to be away from any of them. And I have a group of middle school students that I have been with for 3 years, plan to be with for 4 more, and I couldn't be happier about that. And now my family is waiting for our fostering license.

We have made choices based on what we think pleases God and we have felt radical at times. Now I know we have missed the mark. Scripture describes an abandoned life. A follower of Christ is one who "denies himself, picks up his cross, and follows Christ". "Follows Christ" doesn't mean you go where He went or serve like He served. It means you experience what He experienced: self abandonment for the sake of others, to save them.

One of the things that I have been trying to teach my students is that there are great needs out there and they are capable of meeting some of those needs. I want them to want to serve others. We have talked a lot about the injustices of the world and how they can make a difference if they follow Christ's example. Then I had quite a revelation from all that God has been showing me. My lack of self abandonment causes others to suffer and that is truly injustice. There is so much more that I could do if I abandoned my own self sufficiency. It's not about what we can do with what we have. It's about what we can do when we don't have. The less I have the more I can give.

If I don't pay $30/month for cable than I can give $30/month for people to have clean water. Clean water friends.....is that too much for a person to ask?

If I don't spend money on extra clothes to increase my wardrobe, I can send that money to national missionaries who are desperately trying to reach their own people for Christ.

If I choose to have beans and rice as a meal (which happens to be delicious with some cheese and sour cream) instead of eating out, than that extra $15-$25 can help support our friends serving in Kenya as they teach the locals how to prosper for themselves with their chicken farm. Or maybe that $20 or so will help the street boys who are in bondage to addictions and homeless at 9 years old (younger than my son Cody) to find food and a home, and to find a Savior who will free them in every way.

The less I have, the more I can give. Americans are surrounded with abundance. Compared to what is happening in 3rd world countries I am more and more saddened by our own state of well being. It is not that I wish to suffer or that I think Americans should suffer the way others do. However, I do believe that we are blessed for a reason and we are missing the point. We have so that we can give. It's called stewardship and we are called to be great stewards. We are failing. God has given to us so that we can give to them. Yet, as a nation, and typically as individuals we are in debt. We are hurting ourselves in our over-sufficiency, and we are hurting others who have no other way. That is the injustice that I'm so unsettled about.

And it's not just 3rd world countries who are hurting, it's our neighbor. When our church held an event called "Hope Lives" we saw how many people in our own area were in great need. When God talks about helping and reaching the nations He isn't speaking about geographical boundaries that man, and government, has set. He is speaking about people groups. He is saying that we need to reach anyone who has a need. What I'm realizing is that I'm too busy meeting my own needs to meet others. God is showing me that I'm missing the point. Self abandonment. That's what He is calling me to. Sounds radical huh?

Was Christ anything but radical? No. Have you ever heard of anything more radical than the cross? And scripture tells me that if I am to call myself a follower I must deny myself and take up my cross and follow Him. Radical.

I pray that He shows this to us all. And I pray that I obey.