Learning about a Radical Life in My Home Mission Field

It began with my church deciding to read through the book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt.  I have to be honest.  I had seen that book over and over at the Christian bookstore, online, and even at Walmart.  My first instinct was to question, "What's wrong with the American Dream?"  I never really looked any farther. 

Then, when my church recommended reading it, I went ahead and picked it up.  Radical was uncomfortable for me to read, but in a good way.  It was one of those books that shakes comfort zones and challenges the reader to step out of them.  It did wake me up some, however, to how easy it is to be a Christian in America, and how little American Christians seem to be focused on our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.  Radical woke me up to some of the self-centeredness in my own heart that I wasn't fully aware was there.

A couple of my daughters have always enjoyed missions and missionary stories.  Since beginning to homeschool, I have also enjoyed the few missionary stories we have read.  It was never a focus, however.  It was just a part of our studies. 

After reading Radical, a friend lent me the book The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway.  The story reminded me of one of my favorite books, Safely Home by Randy Alcorn.  With a fire ignited, I began to consume these books.  I re-read Safely Home with new eyes.  I devoured The Heavenly Man.  I now have a list of books about Christians in other countries, other cultures, that I feel a burning desire to read.

Is it too easy to be a Christain in America?  Do we take our blessings and freedoms for granted?  Those questions can really impact how we live and the choices we make to honor Christ.  I have read these stories, and have been humbled at the lukewarm condition of my own heart.  Being lukewarm is not a condition I want. 

I never realized there are people so hungry for God's Word that they will hand-copy Bibles and memorize books of Scripture, if not the entire New Testament, just to make sure that God's Word is in their hearts when it is illegal for it to be in their hands.  I have at least three or four Bibles in just our dining room.  I have one Bible I use at church that I keep in my van so I don't forget it on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings.  And yet, I have just a handful or two of verses memorized.  I have read through the Bible once or twice, but it has never been the consuming fire I know it should be.  There have been times where I can't get enough of God's Word, but then other things come along and I get busy... or distracted... or lazy. 

Reading the stories of other Christians in other cultures, I am ashamed that I have lived in a comfort zone that has kept my heart from breaking for the lost the way it should.  It is not until our hearts break for the lost that we will see the world through the eyes of Jesus.  When we can look at those that persecute us and pray for them, forgive them, and even reach out to them with the love of Christ, then we will be responding as a true Christian.  When we are moved to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in other countries that are facing intense persecution, such as in the case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, then we will be waking up to the realities of the Christ's Church in the World.

Christian homeschooling circles talk a lot about giving our children a Christian Worldview.  Honestly, I think the parents need to make sure they have one first.  Then, we need to examine what a Christian Worldview truly means.  Often I hear that being a Christian is a "lifestyle".  That phrase has never set well with me, but I couldn't figure out why.  Now I know... Being a Christian isn't a lifestyle.  Living on a middle class income is a lifestyle.  Being an athlete is a lifestyle.  There used to be a show called The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, which showed how glamorous the lives of rich and famous people could be.  Somehow, though, the "perfect" lives seemed to be a shallow replica of a true life.

That's how I feel about the "Christian lifestyle".  The Bible says we were bought at a price.  I don't believe Christ died a torturous death on the Cross so we can have some "lifestyle". That seems like a shallow representation of Christ when compared to how we loosely use the phrase "lifestyle" to mean so many other things.  And the "lifestyle" of a Christian seems to vary depending on where on this planet he resides as a Christian. 

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  Philippians 1:21

The lifestyle of a Christian in China, like Brother Yun in The Heavenly Man, is not the same as many American Christians.  We don't often go to church wondering if we will be arrested for being there.  Our church attendance isn't usually a secret.  Yet, the Chinese underground church has been growing for many years, and is still growing, despite and even because of the persecution.  We don't have to spend years in jail for our faith and face execution, as in the case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and many, many others around the world.  From this, you can see why I feel that the term "lifestyle" seems a bit weak.  Most people wouldn't die for a lifestyle.  Lifestyles can change based on outside circumstances.  A Middle Class lifestyle can change with the economy (as many have learned).  An athletic lifestyle can change with an illness or injury.  Lifestyles can change.  A Christian shouldn't have a "lifestyle", but a core foundation that is unshakeable, and a life that represents servant-hood to our King. 

You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.  1 Corinthians 7:23

In my life, and in my home mission field, I am examining and re-examining everything with Scripture.  I don't want just some Christian "lifestyle" that includes church. God is calling me to more, in every area of my life, including in my home mission field.