the sword was relative to the effects the Gospel would have on relationships and families and, ultimately, cities and nations? In other words, being a Christian might bring a sword, but as a Christian you weren’t to wield one yourself?
A passage that moved Litton during this time was Philippians 2:5-8: “In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” “It just profoundly impacted my thinking about what it means to be a Christian because this idea that Jesus ‘emptied’ Himself of His divine rights, His privileges, comfort, security, control and became a servant and suffered unto death. When you hold that model out—if that’s the attitude you are supposed to have—it’s hard to say that you have a right to hold back if this is what Christ did,” he says. This challenge changed Litton’s worldview and drove him to start working for IJM. Shortly after, he went to Manila to start a new IJM field office. Litton gave up a promising career, a prestigious job with a bright future, and exchanged it for a chance to make a difference in the world for Christ. When asked if he was able to save that one girl, Litton says, “Yeah, there were a number of children we were able to help. The first little girl I [helped] was a girl named Katherine who had been raped.” Litton was able to track down the rapist, who was the son of a police officer, have him arrested and convicted. There were several other children who Litton helped escape the brothels as well. “I would say now, having lived that life for a bit, that I think what’s at the heart of being a radical Christian is becoming radically like Jesus,” he says. “Your vocation is secondary, where you live is secondary, your salary, the neighborhood you live in is secondary, the radical heart of it is to be radically like Jesus—to have His values, His thoughts, His character. “A lot of radical people, let’s be honest, they’re lacking love, they’re lacking gentleness, patience,” he says. Litton cautions against the idea of being radical as an end in itself. “The Pharisees were radically obedient to the law, they were radical in their embrace of the minutiae of these different laws and the application of them—but they were empty on the inside.” Litton believes that what sets Christian radicals apart from the world is the commitment to take the teachings of Jesus seriously and to be known by humility and love. “I know a lot of people focus on the big steps—should I leave my job, should I move to Africa, what can I do? And we should be open to those things, but they can become a distraction because, really, what God is calling us to every day is to radically obey Him,” he says. “Radical followers of Christ, their chief characteristic will be love.”
“YOUR VOCATION IS SECONDARY, WHERE YOU LIVE IS SECONDARY, YOUR SALARY, THE NEIGHBORHOOD YOU LIVE IN IS SECONDARY, THE RADICAL HEART OF IT IS TO BE RADICALLY LIKE JESUS ...” —SEAN LITTON
RADICALISM REVISITED Sean Litton, the vice president of field operations for International Justice Mission, a Christian human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression, says, “To radically follow Christ means to be radically like Him.” Litton’s own life and faith would be described as extreme by many. Litton grew up in Aida, Mich., where his family drove downtown every Sunday to attend church. That’s where it all began, Litton says. He trusted Christ in the eighth grade and stayed involved in Young Life in high school and Campus Crusade during college. Litton says he grew up believing the Christian life was supposed to be this romantic, grandiose journey, and it was this idea that first attracted him. “Back then, we were reading Jim Elliot saying, ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose,’ and there was this real sense that we’re going to go out and radically sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel—with this idea that we would chew glass for Jesus.” When Litton graduated, he had his mind set on full-time missions but he was turned down for the mission field and eventually started as a youth pastor in New Mexico. Litton’s experience in ministry wasn’t what he expected and he soon became disenchanted with Christian ministry. “I just had a lot of frustration. I was frustrated with the lack of authenticity and honesty and the lack of truthfulness,” he says. Litton left the church to start law school with the sense that he still wanted to serve God in the back of his mind. After graduation, he was hired at a prestigious, well-paying firm in Washington, D.C. But three years later, Litton was unsatisfied and the notion of serving God was still lingering, so he started praying—What’s next, God? That’s when Gary Haugen, the president of IJM, spoke at his church and talked about helping just one child to make a difference. “I just remember sitting in church that day, I had just come out of a trial and my soul was dry as dust and he is talking about this child and I thought, ‘OK, what would it cost me? If I could help, maybe I could help one kid,’” he says. “So I put that on one side of the scale—to rescue one child out of prostitution where she is being sexually abused day after day after day, locked away, no hope for the future, separated from her family. And on the other side of the scale, what would it cost me if I decided to try and help her? I would lose my professional standing, my security, my comfort and I’d lose control. When I put all these things on the scale it came down firmly on the side of that little girl—she didn’t have a name, it was just a girl in my mind.”
( Field Guide to Radicalism ) Commit your heart and life to the teachings of Christ.
Ask yourself, “How can I empty myself and live for the sake of others?”
Be prepared to face opposition, even from those closest to you.
> The most practical way to become a
> It comes naturally to live a life that’s
> Don’t be surprised if your life-change
love-extremist is to devote yourself to Jesus’ teachings, to worship, to studying Scripture and to letting His thoughts be your thoughts. This is where every radical begins—in the simple but profound message of Christ.
inwardly focused—filling ourselves up—but it takes intentional discipline to empty ourselves for others. In what areas of your life is God calling you to empty yourself? For what relationships is God calling you to give yourself up?
brings conflict to your closest relationships. Jesus said, “For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—your enemies will be the members of your own household’” (Matthew 10:35-36). The obstacles for complete devotion to Christ sometimes begin within one’s own family.
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Release any romantic notions about faith and focus on ordinary, daily obedience.
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> Sometimes it’s harder to live for Jesus
than it is to say we’d die for Him. Embrace the ordinary reality of waking up each morning with heart refreshed, willing to go where God calls you and do what God requires in the smallest details. In the long term, the sum of these small choices amounts to radical change.
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