Are we living just lives?

I'm coming across the word 'radical' almost daily at the moment, and got to thinking through how radical gospel living ought to look. In what ways was Jesus radical? He loved people with reckless abandon, even to the point of losing his life. His priority was always to reach people with the good news of salvation, and to point them to a life lived for others, as his was for them. This is radical - but I think can lead us to all sorts of hypocrisy if we opt in or out of this according to what we feel is important or no. The gospel is life changing and I'm convinced radical Christian living is about living all of our lives in a way that boasts in Jesus and follows his pattern of putting others first.

So, as Jesus loves the poor we should too - but how does this look? One of our key traps is to give money to aid or charitable causes or missions, and yet ignore the impact our own lifestyles have on the very places we're sending aid to. If there are poor people struggling to make a living from farming that puts food on our shelves, and that we buy at a fraction of it's true value - then no wonder these people can barely afford to eat themselves. And we send money to their aid? What hypocrites! Surely, if we buy food that is ethically traded and kind to the people producing it in the first place, then we are being much more just than if we perpetuate the problem by consuming unjustly and give money to make up for it.

But lets not be pragmatic about this - change starts with the heart and is a Spirit led thing. As we read the gospels we see Jesus truly loving all people, the rich and the poor, the uneducated and the educated, the good and the bad...he loves all people and accepts anyone who recognises their need of him. So, if Jesus loves the people who farm our food, and the people who transport it to us and the people in the shops where we buy it etc, and our very selves - the person we know best and whose sin we are most aware of and appauled by, then we, for love of Jesus, should reflect his love of the poor. And that means addressing the lifestyles we take for granted, asking questions of the shops we use, the governments who represent us in the world, and more closely to home, of one another. Does what we consume love the poor? Or does it care more about owning than loving, eating than nourishing, wealth than investment?

Doesn't radical gospel living mean applying the gospel to every single decision we make? And as our whole lives reflect God's goodness, so the world looks on at our good deeds and glorifies our father in heaven.

Rejoice - again I'll say it, Rejoice!