Radical

I laugh aloud when God makes His work abundantly clear! A central theme for my journey and a struggle I have faced while in Kenya has been trying to understand why the faith of Americans and Kenyans is exceedingly dissimilar. What I have discovered is the struggles that are faced on these separate continents are very different; therefore, the reliance on God’s strength is equally different. While I have been pondering this theme, I was drawn toward a book by David Platt titled “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream,” it was suggested by many new-found friends. While I am only on Chapter 3 of this book, it has begun to answer several questions and unlock many new concepts for me to contemplate! This is a book I highly suggest all Christians read!! I want to share the main theory of this book with you.

David Platt writes, “As the American dream goes, we can do anything we set our minds to accomplish. There is no limit to what we can accomplish when we combine ingenuity, imagination, and innovation with skill and hard work. We can earn any degree, start any business, climb any ladder, attain any prize, and achieve any goal. James Truslow Adams, who is credited with coining the phrase “American Dream” in 1931, spoke of it as “a dream…in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.” But underlying this American dream is a dangerous assumption that, if we are not cautious, we will unknowingly accept and a deadly goal that, if we are not careful, we will ultimately achieve. The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability. The American dream prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves and trust in themselves, and we are drawn toward such thinking. But the gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe in God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
David goes on to write, “Here the gospel and the American dream are clearly and ultimately antithetical to each other. While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God. So the challenge for us is to live in such a way that we are radically dependent on and desperate for the power that only God can provide.”

A theme that has been evident in my life while in Kenya is relying on God’s strength throughout each day, as opposed to my own abilities. I have found myself in numerous situations where I felt inadequate and was forced to turn to the Lord for support. David explains this very well when he writes, “In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts his people in situations where they come face to face with their need for him. This is how God works. He puts his people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness.”

It was no accident this is the book that I chose to read toward the end of my journey in Kenya. I am overflowing with questions about my experiences and this book is guiding me toward the answers. I wish I had time to share more with you, but my time on the internet is short now. I encourage all Christians to read “Radical;” it will expose you to a new way of thinking!