I was on a road trip the other day to AIM in Gainesville, GA and randomly I thought about a book that I had read in high school. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, we are introduced to a character who's set apart from society. She has a red letter on her at all times. The purpose of this is to notify those around her that she's not accepted, radical and not what the church approves of.
I pondered on the implications for a moment and it struck me that when Jesus speaks in the Bible, editors were clever to put His words in red. Obviously this is a editorial decision and Jesus didn't walk around with a red letter on His chest. Or did He? I mean, think about it. The moment Jesus walks into a crowd, things start to happen. In essence, Jesus was marked with a red letter the moment He started His ministry. He wasn't accepted or embraced by the church. He was absolutely a radical.
See, Jesus was just as concerned about His actions as He was His words. He lived out His purpose. Hot dang, that IS a radical concept even in our current times. He was born to be the world's savior and was rejected as a heretic. The church believed that a mighty king would appear in the clouds with all wealth and power – THAT would be their Messiah. They were so blinded by the appearance of Jesus, that they dismissed the reality that He had all the power of heaven and earth. The riches of the world are nothing when you're coming from a place with streets of gold. They weren't listening though.
When's the last time you were considered a radical for Jesus? Do you file into church every Sunday and clutch the hymnal while you numbly sing songs about the old rugged cross? Do you hear about a need and assume that someone else will feel more convicted than you to act? Do you dance around the issues of society because you'd rather be politically correct than dismissed with your own red letter of radicalism?
Are you who you WANT to be instead of who you're CALLED to be?
It's so easy to be driven by our feelings, isn't it? We make and cancel plans based on how we feel? We invest money in businesses based on a good feeling. We choose our outfits for the day almost solely on how we feel. I know I'm being extreme here…these things aren't BAD when you compare them to the rest of what the world's up to.
But maybe, just maybe sin starts with complacency.
I'll leave you with this final thought: having a scarlet letter of radicalism isn't always something we're going to feel like doing. It's not about just being "abnormal" from society. It's about being rooted in and committed to Christ, regardless of the cost. It's going to put us in a position where we HAVE to trust and have faith. It will make us uncomfortable and out of place. But, until you start following through on the things you don't FEEL like doing: your feelings will be your undoing!
