Radical Obedience

I've been reading David Platt's new book, Radical, and I am struck with how well it illustrates my walk on this road of adoption.

As I read, I was convicted by my belief that Christianity meant 'God loves me'.

Back in November, when we sat through service on the first annual Orphan Sunday, I think I can safely say that my walk was still in the 'God loves me' department. My husband and I are fairly new to our walk, being saved on New Year's Eve of 2008 and baptized shortly thereafter; so November of 2009, I was still submerged in the 'mourning', 'repenting', and 'surrending' part of my relationship with the Lord (which I don't see going anywhere!).

My husband, as I have mentioned, was very open to adoption, and I had never thought about it, and can honestly say, wasn't very open to the idea.

However, I promised to take it to the Lord in prayer and ask for Him to show me His will for our family. And, as it states in Luke 10:11, 'for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened'. God never fails on this one, and slowly but surely, the Spirit lead my heart to adoption blogs, then specifically to the children of Ethiopia, and so on.

In the book Radical, Platt points out that Christianity is not really about 'God loves me', but rather, 'God loves me so that I make Him known to all the nations'.

I was absolutely convicted by the notion that so many Christians are so quick to take on all of the bibles priviledges, but when it comes to our obligations, such as telling us to make disciples of all nations, we assume it's a specific and unique calling.

An excerpt from Radical:
'It's a foundational truth: God creates, blesses, and saves each of us for a radically global purpose."

Wow! So you're saying that I wasn't saved so I could move forward with God's grace, a clean slate, and continue to live what I and all around me would consider 'comfortably'? I'm embarrassed to say it, but that's exactly what I thought!

I am so thankful to God for His patience, His purpose, His vision, and His spirit as we have walked this road of adoption; specifically to the ends of the world. I never would have guessed that this would have been a part of our story. And as I have realized, with the help of David Platt's book, that for me, it's not really a question of, 'am I being called to adopt?', it's about being radically obedient, and being open to share the grace and salvation of God through the love of Jesus Christ who lives in me.