Warning - this is a tough one...

Radical by David Platt

There is a problem with this book – I want to put it down,,, but I cannot! It challenges me in ways that few others have ever done. It is not a feel good book, it is not a ‘great, you are on the right track, keeping doing what you are doing’ book, it shook my world, it forced me to take a real close, hard look at how we live, what we do, and where we spend our time, money and energy.
David Platt is showing me the idols that so stealthily crept in to my heart and life, the ones that seem so innocent, so good and so pleasing – yet if they walk like a duck and talk like a duck it is a duck no matter how much it is dressed up.
Platt is confrontational in the questions he asks the reader to consider, and the answers are not easy to face – giving up the comfort, the conveniences, the security for the sake of Christ…. Yet, he is not condescending, not judgmental, not patronizing; he is honest about the struggle that I and probably many other American Christians are facing today: The Gospel and the Great Commission versus my comfortable, convenient, practical, safe life in suburbia America. He challenges me to live out the Gospel DAILY, not just on Sunday mornings. God is not a check in the box that is complete on Sunday morning and now I can go on with my life, God is Life, He is ALL and when I surrender to Him completely there is a transformation that is indescribable, one that takes me life in a completely new direction.
David Platt encourages me to take a fresh look at the Gospel, not from my comfortable American suburb point of view but really, fresh unadulterated look at what Jesus is calling me to do. I cannot imagine what would happen if the Christians would take this challenge to heart, it would be not only miraculous but also transformational. The world is ready for the real Jesus, not the one that sits in a pew in church and waits to be entertained, served and taught.
I could not wait to take on the Radical Challenge – pray for the world, read the entire Bible, sacrifice my money for a specific purpose, and spend time in another context. It will not be easy, but Jesus did not come to offer the peace of this world: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27.

Do not read this book unless you are ready for a change, it will change how you think about your faith! He rocked the foundation of my faith and forced me to see where my blind spots in a new light. It brought me back to the True Jesus, the Author and Perfector of my faith – not the one that I had made him out to be. It is encouraging, exhilarating and refreshing to meet Jesus anew, fresh through the pages of David Platt’s book. Thank you David Platt for the wake up call!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.