I feel that I should start this blog by telling you that I have not been much of a reader growing up. Even now, it's been hard to pick up a book and start reading. That being said, I understand that there are people out there that have more insight and widsom about God than I do right now simply because they've been experiencing God longer than I have. I recently had some time to kill away from home, so I stopped in my local Christian bookstore to graze the "Christian Living" section for something that looked exciting. I am learning to be a bargain shopper, because I don't have a lot of money, so I was looking for something on sale. I wasn't looking for a cheap book because I believe that you usually get what you pay for, but I didn't really want to pay full-price for a book. Almost immediately a book's title caught my eye. It was The Barbarian Way, by Erwin Raphael McManus. In the past, when I did read I would usually stick to the few authors who I have come to respect as great Christian men, but I have been on a big "adventurous" kick, so I picked it up. The next thing I saw on the cover was "2 books in 1 volume." This got me really excited! I was getting a book on sale, and it was 2 books in 1. Anyways, I decided I'd give it a shot. I paid for my book, got in my car, and drove to where I needed to be in an hour. When I got there, I rolled down my windows, propped my feet up on the dash, and began to read.
The Book
At first, The Barbarian Way seemed just like other books from John Eldredge and Mike Yaconelli. I thought, "Great. Another writer making money off of the same ideas everyone else writes about." I wanted something new and fresh. Something that I could really sink my teeth into, and tell all my friends about. Anyways, I kept reading. The more I kept reading, the more I wanted to hear. Now keep in mind that I'm not much of a reader, and I haven't read a whole book in a long time. I finished the book in 3 days! I was reading it in the morning after my time in the Word. I was reading it when my girls were napping. And I was even staying up late at night to read (which is very strange because I don't usually get a lot of sleep). That being said, I don't think I would put this book on a must-read list or in my top 5, but reading this book was definately not time wasted. My favorite thing about The Barbarian Way was the fact that there is someone else out there who gets it. McManus understands that when we spend our lives chasing after the one who created us and loved us enough to send His son to die on the cross for our sins, we don't fit in with this fallen world. When we seek after the Lord of Lords, we often come across as barbarians, and radicals. We don't care what people think or say or do to us, because we know without a shadow of a doubt that we are in the will of God and that's all that matters. I desperately desire to soar through this life with reckless abandon, not caring about anything other than my savior and my Lord. Period. My biggest prayer in life, is that God would use me to change the world. Not just my little sphere of influence, but the WHOLE WORLD!!! And I believe HE can do it through me and others like me who are willing to throw all caution to the wind and chase after God. Another thing I really like about McManus, is his differentiation between civilized "Christians," and followers of Christ. The church today, especially in America, has lost it's zeal for God. We have forgotten that the 1st century church was a group of rebels. They were thrown out of their cities, beaten, stoned, thrown before lions in arenas for everyone to watch. They were being killed in droves. I have to say, that if the 1st century church was made up of a bunch of today's "Christians," I don't think there would have been any problem. Christians back then weren't worried about being nice people, or kind neighbors. They were passionately seeking their freedom-giver. They understood that to know God meant they had to tell everyone else. Not just those who wanted to hear them, but EVERYONE!
Paul
Paul from the New Testament is one of my favorite people in all of the Bible. I love his passion. Here's how I envision Paul from reading the NT.
Paul goes into a city. The leaders of the city know who he is and what he wants. He wants to preach Christ as Messiah and they will have nothing to do with him. They say to Paul, "Listen Paul. We know who you are and we know what you do. You can't preach here. If you do, we're going to beat you with rods." Paul says in response, "I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. But just listen real quick. Jesus loves you and he died for your si......." They start hitting him with sticks, and leave him for dead outside the walls of the city. Paul heals up and comes back a few days later. Again they tell him, "You're not welcome here. Leave or we'll stone you." Paul says, "Cool, just listen real quick. Let me tell you about Jesus." They start throwing rocks at him, and leave him for dead outside the walls. Paul comes back a few days later, looking a little bruised. "Paul, we don't want you here. GO AWAY!!" He responds, "Ok, just let me tell you about Jesus real quick." This time they up the ante. They give him the ultimate punishment, the 39 lashes. They don't hear from Paul for a little bit. They think they finally got rid of him. He comes back a week and a half later, walking with a limp. He says, "Let me tell you about Jesus."
How many people to you know who have been beaten for their faith. How many "Christians" do you know who have faced any kind of persecution at all. Hard to think of very many. Christians in America today are weak. We have forgotten who it is that we serve, and how powerful He really is. We have forgotten the call to take up our crosses daily and follow Him. We have forgotten that we share in the death of Christ. We have forgotten that our God is an all-consuming fire. It's time to step up and take back what is rightfully God's, the souls of the world. God has a mission for you. He calls you to go to the ends of the Earth, introducing people to the King of Kings, and inviting them to encounter the greatest being of the universe. Will you go?
