Radical
That’s a term I’ve heard since the day of my salvation.
“She’s too radical”
According to the Oxford Dictionary radical means….
Relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
That’s accurate.
Jesus radically changed my life.
How are you a raging alcoholic one minute, then sober and in your right mind the next?
I mean…that’s kinda radical.
Jesus affected the fundamental nature of who I was and changed it completely.
On a Monday I’m in New Orleans getting my tarot cards read….and on Tuesday I hear the voice of God in a suicidal relapse.
Pretty radical – eh?
My salvation story is radical, and that’s only a snippet of it.
Many were hedging bets it was a phase.
I can’t blame them.
I had many phases.
Many versions of me.
Demonized people typically do.
But 7 years in, and I’m just as radical.
Church folks told me to slow down.
“That radical zeal for the Lord will burn you out!”
But it didn’t.
It’s not my fire.
It’s His.
Then I had “the Facebook clergy” saying I just wanted to be seen.
It was all about likes, and fishing for compliments.
I’m not REALLY this radical. It’s all a show.
Huh?
If I wanted people to love me, trust and believe there are far easier roads than being radical for Jesus on Facebook, not to mention real life.
It’s weird being radical.
Not bad weird.
Just weird.
If you’re radical, you get it.
It’s weird being hated by people who claim Christ.
Anyway, I was talking to the Lord recently about how “radical” and “extreme” people think I am.
(Yes, we talk. We talk all the time)
Me: Lord, am I supposed to be this radical? Does everyone talk to you all day? Does everyone feel Holy Spirit move? Should I have a Bible verse for every occasion?
Or am I just a bit….too radical?
(Jesus is used to my rapid-fire questions)
Then the Lord took me through scripture.
Seas splitting.
Chariots of fire.
Angels with four faces.
Dead bones coming to life.
Demons being cast into swine.
5000 being fed from a boy’s lunch.
I believe it all. Kinda radical.
The believers in the Book of Acts sold everything they had for the cause of Christ.
Pretty radical.
The man from Gadara was naked and cutting himself in a tomb one minute, and worshiping Jesus the next.
Kinda extreme.
The women with the issue of blood. She broke the law. Climbed through dirt and feces on the ground just to touch the hem of the Messiah’s robe.
Radical by all accounts.
Stephen, the first martyr. When he was dragged out of the city to be stoned, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father and was overcome with joy.
Radical testimony.
Paul was responsible for Stephen’s death and went on to write 2/3 of the New Testament.
Extreme conversion.
Jesus dying on a hill, in the blistering sun. Beaten.
Naked.
Unrecognizable.
He went for me.
As me.
My sin.
Absolutely radical.
The extreme of extremes.
His love is so vast, so wide, so high that it can’t possibly be understood by any man.
His love is radical and extreme.
And then I realized, I’m not nearly radical enough.
Friends, I was radical in my sin.
I will be far more radical for Christ.
To learn more about Heidi and her Kingdom passion, visit Kingdom Come Home
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