Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds

I read an amazing book a few months back and I was reminded that I never really shared it with you. It's a great book by C. Thomas Davis (author of Fields of the Fatherless - another SUPER book!) called Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds.

http://www.cthomasdavis.com/

Immediately, I wanted to say "but don't be scared of the title! It isn't a call to die a martyrs death!", but maybe that isn't entirely true...

Davis doesn't directly say "hey - you should die and bleed for your faith" he DOES challenge the reader to die to self and live as Christ.

The premise behind the title is simply this: if God put on flesh and actually spoke to people, instructing them how to live, wouldn't it be important to pay attention to what he said? Red letters: the words of Christ are in red letters in our Bibles. Living a faith that bleeds: is the faith only skin deep or is there actually something under the surface?

The danger in reading a book like this (as with many books that I tend to gravitate toward) is that the words and ideas leave me disturbed and ruined. How can I read...

that one in THREE South Africans are HIV positive

or

that - that at the age of 32 - I have already outlived the average life expectancy of someone in Zimbabwe?

(stats made all the more real at the time I read them because Jim was IN South Africa and seeing an influx of refugees from Zimbabwe).

This should affect life change. But what does that life change look like?

For some it may mean going to South Africa and being Christ's hands and feet to a mother dying of AIDS while her children watch - helpless to numb their momma's pain - and facing a very uncertain future of their own. For some it means that their budget gets a little tighter as they strive to out-give God and direct more giving to provide shelter to refugees or meals for their children's hungry bellies.

The "problem" I have with reading and digesting a book like Red Letters is that living a normal life is no longer possible. I am SO challenged by the massive problems around me that I feel a need to respond in some very dramatic way. Davis actually addresses that in his book - and here is the truth: if everyone did SOMETHING - just one thing - and was committed to it - we could actually chip away at these insurmountable problems and actually make a difference.

I went to our pastor with some of these stats as I was reading the book. Now - he has seen me respond to crisis' like Hurricane Katrina, the orphan crisis and so on for many years now - so he is kind of "used" to my heart. He has always been very gentle with me, saying things like "God will open and close doors as you pursue his plan" and he has always helped me maintain a solid footing. But in response to my email about all these problems in Africa, he lovingly - but more firmly than ever before - told me:

One word about the other burdens that you sense - AIDS, African life expectancy, etc. - these are real and from God, but not every opportunity is an obligation; not every need is a calling. Not everything that stirs your heart demands your resources. God will call someone to respond to all those needs, but one person/team/church can never do all things good and necessary. Do one thing well; other things as time and availability allow.

So, my challenge to you?

Read this book.

I am responding to the calling on my life right now: ministering to these children in my home and being open to any more that God may bring to our home. My thought right now is this: what if God is calling YOU to respond to the HIV crisis in South Africa or to minister to the people of Zimbabwe? Will you respond? God will accomplish his purpose - with or without you - but are you willing to be obedient and step out in faith? To receive His blessings and be part of his miracle?

Are you willing to live a faith that bleeds?