Most of the time, I am not much of a reader. I tend to buy a lot of Christian books, and start reading them with a great deal of enthusiasm, only to find myself getting bored when I am about half way through. This has not been the case in recent weeks though. I have been doing a lot of reading, and have found my heart really gripped by God as I have been looking into the lives of many great men and women of God. Their lives serve as inspiration and warning to us... in the record of their journeys we see God illuminating so many things that we face today... so many opportunities, so many pitfalls.

One of the things that has really stood out to me as I have been reading is how many 'Bible heroes' were marginalised. How many of them suffered... how many of them were unlikely candidates for greatness... how many of them wrestled with feeling forgotten or forsaken. In fact, just about every 'named' person in the Bible lived a life of difficulty, challenges and even suffering. They faced many things, and they endured because they had found God to be worthy of even their lives! In view of all of this, I found myself looking at a very distinct contrast. The contrast between how they lived, and how we live. The contrast between their lives, and the 'ideal Christian life' that we pursue - a life of comfort, prosperity and popularity.

I am not in any way opposed to success, prosperity, or any of this. But I do find myself wrestling with this question: 'How come our experience is so very different from the experience of the people who laid the foundations of our faith?' The foundation layers had to lay it all down... how come we don't? Many of the pioneers of the Christian faith even gave up their lives to preach the gospel throughout the known world of the time... how come we are so squeamish about cost, suffering, and the concept of martyrs? What has changed? The Bible makes it clear that Jesus doesn't change (Heb13:8)... the message of the gospel hasn't changed... so what is the deal? Has anything really changed, or are we off course?

Are we looking for the wrong things, are we searching for truth in all the wrong places? Is what we are doing accurately representing the way of the Master... does the Church look like the world, or the Word? I am fully convinced that there is a new generation of young radicals emerging. They will become a nameless, faceless tribe of humble champions that Jesus will use to change the world. The expression of the Christian faith will be dramatically transformed in the space of one generation... and this company of wild Christians will maraud the nations in the power of the Holy Spirit... releasing healing, and re-digging the wells of revival and reformation.

A question for the Church right now is this... as a new generation of young people begin to step up into all that God has called them to be... Church, do we want them to look like us? Are we reflecting the reality of who Jesus is enough, that they will see Him in us? Can we say to them what Paul said to the Corinthian Church... ffollow my example, as I follow the example of Christ?'. Will following us lead them towards the Son of God or away from Him? Reality check! The Word of God is still the words of God. This book that we read and carry around with us, still contains the pattern for living... the priorities of heaven... the person of Jesus still lives in its pages. And this same radical man calls to us today with the same invitation... 'Follow Me'. Lay everything down... come after me with wild abandonment... fear nothing, not even death... become part of the solution... change the world, one life at a time!

This call is not for the faint hearted, nor is it for the squeamish. Safety and comfort and fame are not guaranteed... but a life of significance is! Young man, young woman... the uncreated God of heaven calls you by name, and invites you to live a life less ordinary. A dangerous, wild, exhilarating, astonishing life that may take you to the nations... to the poor of your city... to the unpopular... to the broken... to the influential... to whoever God wants to use you to call 'home'. In a world where everything has changed, one thing remains the same. The voice of God still calls people to follow... to go where He wants to go and to do what He wants to do. He still calls us to embrace the life of walking humbly with His Son… and to love the world enough to reach out and touch it with His love. Shall we begin?