Why "radical"… because what you see here is radically different than what you will see in the rest of the world, or perhaps, even in most churches.

This is indeed, Good News… the Kingdom is at hand; we can begin to walk in it for it is near us. (See my essay on God’s Kingdom in the here and now.) How we begin to walk in the Kingdom is by beginning to let God (the King) reign in our hearts even now, after all, do we not have the Spirit of the Son in our hearts (Gal 4:6).

Many say Jesus is Lord of my life, but is He? Do we really aim to seek the will of God in our lives? Now, this is not an essay about salvation in the hereafter, this is an essay on living out our salvation in the here and now. In the fullness of heaven, the only thing we will do will be the will of God. If that is where we intend to go when we are through here, it might be good to get started in getting on board with His will; sooner rather than later. After all, this is how Jesus operated (John 12:49,50).

There are many scriptures pointing to the need that we must be crucified "in the flesh"(Gal 5:24), to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23), and to have in us the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5-11). All of these point to the need we have to let go and let God. To let go of trying to be in control of our lives, and seek 1^st the Kingdom of God, and what He wants for us. Jesus modeled this in Gethsemane when He prayed, "nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." Despite what the reformers might believe, we do have some say in our lives as to how we will live them. We can "do our own thing" or we can "walk with God".

1. We assume God wants to talk with us and be a personal part of our lives.

2. God can communicate His will to us.

3. He will empower us to be able to do what He calls us to do.

4. We are forgiven if we fall short.

I do not think any of these assumptions are out of line; as this is how the people of the bible seemed to operate in their lives.

This brings me to my main point:

The job description of a radical disciple of God: (as modeled by Jesus).

For all the complexities of doctrines, this seems simple.

1. Listen to God.

2. Do what He says.

That is the minimum… but I also like to add

3. See what happens (feedback helps us listen better).

4. Tell someone about what you see (if good stuff happens, invite others to try it).

I think we can expect it to be difficult (I said it was simple, not easy!). I have been at this for over 12 years, and I still have my moments of giving into the flesh and forgetting to consult God on critical aspects of my life. To have the mind of Christ means a major rewiring of my neural pathways, as I am transformed by the renewing of my mind (Rom 12:1,2)(Eph 4:22-24).

I think in the long run, as we get to be better listeners to the Shepherds voice (John 10:27), we will start to see some neat things happen around us. I do not rule out the occasional big miracle, and I have seen more than my share of the minor ones already.

Inside us, we will begin to bear the first fruits of our salvation (Rom 8:22,23). Part of that, I believe is the fruit (singular) of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22-23a) But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… That will empower us to love even our enemies (Matt 5:44), not just God and our neighbors. It will give is peace in the midst of the chaos of life. And joy in the midst of unhappy circumstance (like Paul and Silas wrongfully beaten with rods, thrown in prison, then singing, praying, and praising God in Acts 16). The list goes on, but it is clear that the marks of a radical disciple will make us indeed salt and light in a world that desperately needs it.

I have good news… if we aim to be obedient to God and fall short; we are forgiven, for while we were yet unrepentant sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8)… He does not ever change His mind about wanting us to walk closer to Him.

1. Read scripture. You do not have to fully understand it for the Holy Spirit to use it, and scripture is how we learn about others relationships with God. Scripture tells us ABOUT God.

2. Pray – more specifically… Dialog… even more specific… try and listen to God. This is how we get to know other people, we listen to them, and we share experiences with them. God gave us two ears and one mouth; I think there is a small hint there. I can talk at you all day, but if I do not hush up and listen to you, I will never get to know you. If we make speeches to God, and never stop and listen, how in the world will we ever get to KNOW God, much less trust Him personally?

The only way we will find out if this really works for us is to try it:

Listen to God, do what you believe He is directing you to do, see what happens, and then tell someone about it. When we do this, I believe we begin to walk in our salvation in the here and now, rather than waiting for the hereafter.

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