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Before writing this review, I would like to deeply apologize for not submitting this in time. Please forgive me.. 

Reading Radical by David Platt has been a blessing, and I have divided this book review into 4 quarters, each with its own teachings. The first quarter focuses on the "American Gospel" and the many traps that this contains. The two statements that stood out to me are:
(1) "The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability" (Platt 46)

(2) "While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God." (Platt 47)

Platt asserts that many of us suffer from an exaggerated sense of self. The notion of an "American gospel" is attractive; it encourages us to do better for the sake of ourselves in the scope of our abilities. Through this, we can show that God made us strong to succeed in our work places, and that success is what will grow God's name among the nations. But this is wrong, as the Bible (and Platt) so painfully points out. The point of the gospel is Jesus, and Jesus didn't come down and save us from our sins just so we can achieve our desires in our own power and let our glory shine. Instead, God delights in using the weak, the inadequate, the scared to showcase his power that we cannot possibly fathom. This stood out to me because recently I've been falling into the same trap. When I succeed, I do thank God but I am more satisfied with the result and not God's wonders that were shown through this process. This has lead to arrogance and belief that God is here to empower me to succeed in whatever I wish to do. While factually, in my head, I know that it is not me but God, my heart can't seem to accept this and wants to attribute everything to my own hard work and talent. Reading this first half has once again reminded me of my ego and has added to my prayers to be lowly not in just word but also in my heart, for God is sovereign and the gift that his Son has blessed us with is for riches in heaven, not in earth. 

As Platt has said, "The message of biblical Christianity is 'God loves me so that I might make him---his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness--- known among all nations.' Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is" (Platt 70). We are to merely be the witnesses and servants of God, not the focus nor the center. I hope to re

The second quarter focused much on multiplying of the community through Jesus's great commissions: to make disciples of all nations. Some key statements that stood out were:
(1) "Meanwhile, Jesus has commanded us to go. He has created each of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and I propose that anything less than radical devotion to this purpose is unbiblical Christianity." (Platt 64)

(2) "In the process we have unnecessarily (and unbiblically) drawn a line of distinction, assigning the obligations of Christianity to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all." (Platt 72)

I love the our church encourages missions and evangelism through Living Water, Good News, and other ministries. A part of me always wondered if some aren't called for certain ministries e.g. perhaps brother A is not called for small group leader and sister B is not called for evangelism. Platt has destroyed these thoughts with Biblical statements: all are called to teach and evangelize. While some may have gifts that allow God to use them better in certain aspects, all are expected to continue growing God's nation. As Platt eloquently puts it, "Regardless of what country we live in, what skills we possess, what kind of education we have, or what kind of salary we make, Jesus has commanded each of us to make disciples, and this is the means by which we will impact the world" (Platt 86). Skimming through this text again, I am reminded that it is not solely through my efforts that impact the world but rather through the continuous growth of God's nation in which the world changes (for the better). This is not just through monologuing the gospel to anyone who comes by but rather through developing personal relationships with the people we are called to. I have been made painfully aware that God is calling me to make deeper relations with those around me so that his glory may be poured upon those who do not yet believe. My superficial relationships with my peers are not right in God's eyes, and I hope that through living life with the community that he has placed me in, I am able to be more deeply invested in others' lives and make disciples the correct way; not by force feeding the gospel every now and then but sharing life as Christ has done for this disciples (Platt 92).

Much of the third quarter is focused on giving, not based on what is comfortable for us but rather how much God wants each and everyone one of us to give. When debating about how much is the right to give, there are many arguments to sell everything to follow Jesus. Blatt calls this incorrect and refutes, "Even some of the disciples, who admittingly abandoned much to follow Christ, still had a home, likely still had a boat, and probably had some kind of material support." (Blatt 119).  Thinking more about this topic, a bible verse from Ginosko came to mind, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7). One question comes to mind, what does it mean to be cheerfully giving? Before reading Radical, I always thought this meant giving what is comfortable, but clearly the book's message is the opposite, to step outside of our comforts, as Blatt mentions, "We think, If it's dangerous, God must not be in it. If it's risky, if it's unsafe, if it's costly, it must not be God's will. But what if these factors are actually the criteria by which we determine something is God's will?..  What if the center of God's will is in reality the most unsafe place for us to be?" (Blatt 164). After reading through this book, I can say that we are most delighted when following God, which must mean each of God's commands will fill us joy (although perhaps not at the moment). So, to be cheerfully giving is to have God as our only voice (Blatt 121) and let his decisions be ours and trust in it. The future is shaped by our Lord; why not trust in this? I pray that I may be able to live life as God has commanded, to be cheerful in my giving and equally thankful in my receiving. 

The last quarter mentioned of sacrifice and the things we can do at this moment. Platt mentions the Radical Experiment in which we should all partake in: prayer for the world, reading the bible cover-to-cover, giving, spending time in another context, multiplying the community) all comes down to sacrifice; as Platt puts it, "Sacrifice is giving away what it hurts to give. Sacrifice is not giving according to your ability; it's giving beyond your ability"(Platt 195). God is always shaping our vessel to be able to contain more than what is had previously, so that we may have the capacity to receive and give more than previously. In this process, we will be hurt; Platt makes that evident when he states that the danger in our (current) lives isn't so much avoiding Jesus as it is pursuing Jesus (Platt 167). The cost of following Jesus is everything, and through meditating on this book, I came to realize that I took things way too lightly. There is so much weight in every one of Jesus's words, especially those concerning our persecution and safety, yet I took safety for granted because we are living in a first world country that has a large Christian population. If there comes a time to choose between comfort and Christ, would I choose Christ and forsake the current warmth and peace? I pray to be a man of God to always choose Christ regardless of the options.

Among all the sentences in this piece of literature, one statement stood out the most: "But there is no injustice in God. The injustice lies in Christians who possess the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who haven't heard. That is unfair." (Blatt 158). As Christians in a good environment, we take the gospel for granted and mistakenly think that most of the world already knows of Jesus. Yet, this was a cold reminder to how privileged we currently are and what we should be doing instead of indulging in our comforts of this Christian bubble. Hopefully, my thoughts have turned radically and I am more eager and determined to do good in God's name, for the sake of his kingdom and those who have yet to hear of salvation.