A Letter to David Platt...

Dear David Platt,

You have officially ruined my comfortable little life.

About six months ago, while perusing a Christian bookstore, I came across your book Radical. My husband and I had been chatting about how maybe Jesus wasn't really a supporter of the American dream... I saw your book, picked it up, and took it home, hoping it would bring some sense to the subject. I started reading it...my comfortable little life was ruined.

So, I passed it along to my husband with a fair warning....and then his comfortable little life was ruined.

I have since passed it along to many friends, offering the same warning....so I would expect a series of letters to follow this one.

You see, you have carelessly offered these "ideas" that we should all live like Christ lived, travel to third world countries, live on less to give more, use our time to make a difference, question our idea of success, live counter-culturally....when taken to heart, when one really accepts the challenge you offer- BIG things happen. God gets to work- and really, you just don't know what to expect next. In fact, one may choose to do things that raise eyebrows, challenge friendships, or  drastically alter their future plans.

We now find ourselves making huge life-changing decisions, you know- decisions beyond which DSLR camera to buy and whether to order a salted caramel mocha or just a mocha. We find ourselves looking at our food bill and our heart breaking when we realize how many starving children in third-world countries could be fed for an entire year. We question our use of the word NEED- and question how we can abandon ourselves to follow Christ.

You see, David Platt, you opened my eyes to an entire world of people, hurts, and tragedies that I might have chosen to ignore. You challenged me to live outside my box, with more than myself to worry about- you reminded me how Jesus really lived and asked me if I would have the courage to live the same way...I didn't....now I pray that I will.

I have to say, you called me out- you may have offended me a little- your words hurt my well-meaning nature...but I thank you. You changed my life. I will never be the same- and neither will my children. We all thank you for that. Even if you ruined our comfortable little lives.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth