So many people that call themselves "Christian" are anything but the radical type of Christians that Jesus told to "take up your cross and follow me."

I know that personally I'm not nearly as radical of a Christian as I should be. For some reason, there sometimes is a disconnect between how I actually live my life and what I read in the Bible about how I should be living it. It might not be that I'm sinning outright, but more that I'm just not obeying some of the commands that I read to the fullest.

I'm writing today to share with you an experience I had that gave me a glimpse of how radically we should live the Christian life.


The Story
 
I blog about mountain biking for one of the biggest mountain bike blogs in the world, Singletracks.com, as well as my own blog, GregRidesTrails.com. While my main focus with blogging is writing, I shoot photographs and videos for my blog posts too.

Recently, I was speaking with this person (we'll call him Fred) about one of my recent mountain biking videos and how I thought that if I simply had an HD camera, my videos would be astronomically better simply due to the improved video quality. Well, a few weeks later, a GoPro HD Hero helmet camera showed up unannounced on my doorstep. I had no idea who it was from or why I had received it, and I started emailing all of my mountain bike connections to see if I had been sent it for some sort of specific purpose. Eventually, I asked Fred if he knew anything about it.

It turns out that Fred had randomly decided to buy it for me. Now, a GoPro HD is no small trinket: this is a $300 camera we're talking about. Fred's a college student, so naturally cash can be hard to come by. I told him that I definitely didn't need a camera, and asked how he could afford it, and why he had given it to me? Fred tried to pass it off as nothing, but after I pressed him for a response, he said that he'd been saving up to buy one for himself, but that he thought I could put it to much better use than he.

Obviously, I was just astounded. Then he added, "Well, I just figured that it is more blessed to give than to receive."

Wow. 

I've read those words in the Scriptures many times. But have I actually believed them? Maybe I haven't. I've enjoyed giving people things when I can and lending out my spare mountain bikes so people can try the sport out, but have I ever believed it so much that I would give a $300 helmet camera that I had been saving up for to someone else? Heck no!

Through this simple action, Fred impressed on me how we should truly believe the words of the Scriptures, and how radically they should impact our lives.

Also, it bears mentioning that Fred did this without a major announcement of his intentions or any attempts to draw attention to his sacrificial act. That's why I've changed his name in this article: instead of doing something to get the glory of man, he was doing this solely to the glory of God.

Your Turn:
What do you think is one way that we can radically apply Jesus' teachings?