Really Radical

I'm reading Radical by David Platt and it's refreshing. He wrote "Let's put ourselves in the shoes of these eager followers (disciples)of Jesus in the first century. What if I were the potential disciple being told to drop my nets? What if I were the man that Jesus told to not even say good-bye to his family? What if we were told to hate our family and give up everything we had in order to follow Jesus? This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor." This is tough stuff! I've been wresting through these ideas for the past 6 years or so. It all started with our trips to Africa. I just felt compelled to get rid of our junk and live as simply as possible.........still working on that concept! There have been times in my life, where quite honestly, I felt a bit self-righteous cause I had no attachments to my 'stuff'. All of you who 'really' know me, know that I could care less about my stuff. But, that's cause 'stuff' is not a weak spot for me. If I had been the rich young leader who approached Jesus, he would not have bothered asking me to sell all my possessions. That would have been too easy for me. He might would have asked me to 'leave my children, lose my ability to walk, or lose my sight, or lose my dearest friends, or be willing to live/minister in the arctic circle" who knows!! But Christ knows the things that hold me back and he knew what things were holding back the rich young ruler. When recruiting his disciples he asked them to leave their jobs, avoid attending a dad's funeral (no time for that), 'hate' (in context) our families, and basically have reckless abandonment. Yep, that's the kind of love He is looking for. He's not REALLY telling me to leave Paul and the kids right now. But what if one day, we are called to leave the U.S.? Will we be willing to leave our children and grandchildren? That's a real question. Am I willing to risk friendships cause I want to seriously follow Him? I can give up my stuff, no worries there. But what is most dear to my heart? What about my life or the lives of my children? Have I surrendered all of that to Him? Each day, I have to remind myself in prayer that my kids are gifts and that they are His. I am preparing them to one day be willing to risk their own lives for the sake of the Cross. I'm also reading 1000 Arrows and it's a tough one too! I feel like our kids are the next radical generation and my job is to prepare them for their lives as adults. I don't feel as though it will be a 'cake walk'. I think they will have to put their jobs, relationships, and possibly their lives on the line in order to follow Christ. Yellow belly does not set well with me. I hope I have the courage too one day to do the same. I pray that my kids would have a 'radical' love for Him. I don't want average followers of Christ. Yuck!! I don't want to be an 'average' follower of Christ either. I guess I have a lot of work to do in my own life too! What are your desires for your kids? What are your aspirations? doctor, lawyer, preacher? I could care less about the profession. It's not the profession they choose but how they profess His name! Atleast, those are my tiny thoughts.