.5% of God's Heart.

I am still working my way through David Platt's book Radical. It is simply, eye opening. When I was reading through chapter 4 the other day I came across something that I need to share. At first, I wasn't sure that writing about this was a good idea because I am going to step on some toes but then again when did Jesus beat around the bush to make His point?

We have heard it said many times in our Christian circles, " I have a heart for the United States." "My heart is here in the US while others are called to serve else where, I am set here." "How can I help the rest of the world when there are starving, dying, sinners here in my very town?"

All great statements. I am not going to advocate that there should be no ministry within the US. I am not going to say that people shouldn't adopt from the US or help the needy here in our very towns. I am just going to share with you something from this book. Take it as you may, for me and my life it is continuing to change me.

"Others may say God has given me a heart for US. These statements sound spiritual, but when we prove deeper, they seem more like smoke screens. They are smoke screens because most of us really are not very concerned about the needs right around us. Most Christians rarely share the gospel and most Christian's schedules are not heavily weighted to feed the hungry, helping the sick, and strengthening the church in the neediest places in our country. But even if we were doing these things, we would still be overlooking a foundational biblical truth when we say our hearts are for the US. As we have seen all over  Scripture, God's heart is for the world. So when we say we have a heart for the US, we are admitting that we have a meager 5% of God's heart and WE ARE PROUD OF IT. When we say we have a heart for the city we live in, we confess that we have less than 1% of God's heart!"

I do not know about you but I never want to only have 5% of God's heart.  We say all the time that we want what God wants but we really don't. We want what we want within our safe circles. It is disgusting. I am ashamed. I am not even sure what the next step is here. I think the first step is being completely aware of this concept and making a conscious effort to change.

Lord~ I am now aware, help me to change. Do not let me go back to the way I was.

.American Jesus.

I know two blog posts in one day! I can't help it. I need to write about this. Let me know share this quote with you from David Platt's book Radical.

" We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that He receives all of our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter wants us to avoid danger all together. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as live out our Christian spin on the American dream. But do you and I realize what we are doing? We are molding Jesus into our image."

If you skipped over that, please go back and read it. I am ashamed. I never imagined that that's what I was doing to Jesus. How dare I twist the Jesus of the Bible into something that He isn't? How was it that I sat through countless church services and Sunday school lessons and have never heard that we are molding Jesus into our image? We have things backwards here. We and our Americanized churches are screwed up. We say we believe one thing and we do not. Can I honestly say that I believe in the Jesus of the Bible? Not the Jesus in my mind, the Jesus in the Bible. And if I do believe in the Jesus of the Bible am I willing to believe whatever Jesus says? Am I committed to obeying whatever Jesus says?

Lord- I am ashamed. I come before you humbled and ashamed. I cannot put into words how I feel right now. I cannot believe all of this time I have been molding you into something that you are not. Why have I had this backwards? Show me the real You. Do not let me eyes be blind to the need around me. Please teach me to obey the You of the Bible. The Jesus who left everything and gave His entire life to service. Please open my eyes. Please do not let these words go in one ear and out the other. I desire change. I want something different for my life. You are the change that I need.