In the 80’s the word “radical” was actually in fashion – or was that the 90’s? Whenever it was, it’s embarrassing to reminisce, because the word these days is anything but hip and in vogue. Today, “radical” is a synonym for “human being with screw loose.” Images of wiry unkempt hair, wild maniacal eyes, and a horrible case of Turrets seem to subconsciously dance through the mind. Let’s admit it – the word “radical” has lost its cool edge and now appears more on America’s Most Wanted posters than on the lips of those that seek to be culturally kosher.
To be honest, I don’t like the word at all. However, a true Christian seeking to live out the plain-spoken words of Christ, is going to be hard-pressed to avoid that unpleasant word from attaching itself to their every action. The word “radical” in relation with bravehearted Christianity is kind of like coos with babies, oohs with sunsets, and blues with jazz – it just kind of comes with the package.
Let me give you a for-instance. Leslie and I just got a letter yesterday from our dear friend, Jolene, in Montana. This girl is serious about her Christianity. She’s sort of a spunky modern-day Gladys Aylward – bravehearted to the core, Christ-adoring, and a lover of the least. Girls like Jolene are considered “normal” in Leslie’s and my worldview. But to this world, she’s, you might say . . . cough . . . ahem . . . “radical.”
Jolene is a twenty-six-year old single girl. Talented and full of energy to change this world. She’s got all it takes to make money, find success, and live this life according to the modern prescription. But there’s something that is sort of messing with her normalcy. You see, Jolene has Jesus. In fact, she has Jesus in a measure that has forever altered her and has made her rather strange to this world about.
So, as the story goes, this girl with so much potential, said to God, “Whatever you wish to do with my life, do it!” And that’s when things started going a bit, how should I say? . . . radical.
Suddenly Jolene was awakened to the foster care system and all the many thousands of kids that are suffering. This young single girl asked God to allow her to help – to do something to make a difference. That’s when Jolene was introduced to Justin, a thirteen-year-old boy, in desperate need of an advocate. So Jolene took this young boy in. Yes, you heard me correctly, Jolene, who is a twenty-six year old single girl took this needy thirteen-year-old boy in as her foster son.
Jolene has been working to actually adopt this young boy for close to a year now. The story is something straight out of a classic Christian biography.
So, this same Jolene sent Leslie and I letter yesterday. It was like receiving a letter from Gladys Aylward herself. Listen to what it said:
Life has been a little wild lately. Last week I got my official letter stating my teaching job has been terminated and this is simultaneous with the beginnings of Justin’s adoption. An interesting combination I must say!
Okay, stop right there. Nothing that far out of the ordinary, right? Yes, the fact that she is even trying to adopt a thirteen year old from the foster care system is a bit over-the-top, but everything else is sort of everyday life for many of us. Well, let’s keep reading.
God is in control of all things, and He will work out all the details. It’s a learning process for sure. At first I found myself using my adoption of Justin as an excuse for being upset over losing my job, but God quickly squashed that. He asked me to take Justin in and He also is in control of my job status. My job is to simply trust and obey.
Now, we are starting to get a bit more “radical” here. This is not the way a normal human responds to such adversity. She seems a bit too calm, don’t you think? Let’s put the recipe together: One cup singleness, one cup needy thirteen-year-old boy, and one cup terminated job. Normally when you mix those three things together you get violent explosions and fireworks displays of dramatic panic attacks – but not in this little bravehearted girl.
Now, I’m going to skip over the part of her letter that details all the miraculous things happening in Justin’s adoption process. It’s great stuff but a little off the topic of this blog. And let’s go straight to the part where she starts professing her feelings about the adoption:
Eric and Leslie – I believe with every ounce of my being that lives will be radically altered through this adoption process.
Did you notice the word “radically” in her last sentence. Her word, not mine.
I am not called to the children only, but rather, to reach out to the lost and broken families. God has also clearly shown that I am to take in the lost and forgotten – the children in danger of “aging” out of the system and being dumped into the world all alone. Not if I have anything to say! I visit the adoption websites daily and the only thing holding me back from having a houseful of dysfunctional kids to cherish are the state regulations. But God is bigger than those. I recently had God challenge my heart. I was determined that I would adopt 20 kids during my time on earth. God has recently challenged me with 50 – foster/adopted children. I can’t wait!!
Okay, does anyone see anything in that last little literary string that is strange and not of this world? This world would call such effusion of emotion and excitement “cuckoo” – they would call it “extreme” – and, let’s be honest, they just might tag it, (ahem) “radical.”
And let me say, if this is the definition of “radical,” then let that stigma also rest on me. And not just me, on you as well. And not just you, but every other Truth-loving Christian who desires to bring fame to their Risen King.
Whether we like the word “radical,” or not, the word is reserved for those of us that come to Jesus and say, in concert with that twenty-six year old single girl named Jolene, “Whatever you wish to do with my life, do it!”
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