When Jesus needed extremists the most, when He faced the Roman centurions in the garden at His arrest, He told Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matt. 26:52).
Was Jesus using double talk here? In one place He seems to encourage the radical violence that comes with His Kingdom, but in another He quiets the blade and rebukes His disciple. Could it be the reference to 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?
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 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.
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 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.
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. Litton says, “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, 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.
Litton believes 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.”
This article is adapted from the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of RELEVANT.
