How to be a Radical Christian (i.)
Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Maybe your first thought is: “Yuck! Who wants this Pentecostal/Charismatic, phony baloney, spiritual gifts-type of stuff. Not me!”
Relax. Take a deep breath. Now, continue reading.
Let’s say that you and your wife take your daughter to the mall. Your little girl is three years old and dressed up in a Bambi t-shirt and matching jeans outfit. Everyone looks at her and smiles. She’s an absolute doll. You adore her and would do anything to protect her.
But before leaving home, you were in a hurry and forgot to use the restroom. Now, you need to go. You tell your wife and, of course, she rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Then she says, “Oh honey, use the one in Macy’s Department Store. We’ll wait here by the kids play area.”
You rush to the restroom, do your duty, wash your hands, and leave. When you walk out of the store, you see a flash and hear an explosion from an Islamic terrorist’s bomb. It knocks you down. Glass particles and debris cover you.
Brushing yourself off, you run to where you wife and daughter were waiting. When you get there, you see bodies all over the floor. You somehow find your wife and daughter, but they’re covered with blood and dead.
Now, what are you going to do?
Are you going to call the police? Or the doctor? Or your pastor? Or the funeral home? Or are you just going to fall down and cry?
You see, at this disastrous moment, you need the gift of faith, the gift of healing, and the gift of miracles to try and raise your loved ones from the dead. And I guarantee that you would do anything to have these gifts at that time, wouldn’t you?
So, what’s stopping you from seeking the spiritual gifts right now? Pride. Bad teaching. Laziness. What?
Remember: Radical Christians do not care what others think. They swim upstream against whatever religious current they face.
(Continued in Part 7)
Larry Who 