Wow, I don't even know where to start about this chapter. Like the first chapter many things slapped me in the face and makes me feel like my faith is nothing. The story about the Asian believers who for 10 days, 12 hours a day wanted to sit in a room risking their lives to hear him teach about the Old and New Testaments. It makes me realize that I am no where near as hungry for God's Word as that. I have countless Bibles in my room which is a good thing, I guess, but many people don't even have a complete copy of God's Word. I wonder if we took away about cushioned chairs and the production that we call church would anybody show up. It was refreshing to hear that people did at their Secret Church. Even then, they were in no immediate danger of being killed for meeting like they were. I wonder if I was born in another country would I even profess to be a Christian?
It hit me hard when he said that our form of the gospel has been Americanized. We have made it so cliche and about us really. We say that God has a plan for my life that is why Christ died, which is true, but as Platt said he died so that we may know God. I have to admit that I don't radically seek him every day. There are many days that I don't even pick up my Bible. I read a quote from RC Sproul "our failure in our duty to study God's Word is not a lack of intelligence or passion. Our problem is that we are lazy". I believe he is right. Many days, I am lazy and don't read God's Word because I don't feel like it. That is no excuse. I am 100% dependent of God, I need him every moment of every day. When I don't read my Bible I am telling God that I don't need him that day and that I can do this on my own.
I am about to move to New Orleans to learn how to rightly handle the Word of Truth. I can study all day long and learn the right things to say and do, but if I, deep down, don't have a true passion and desire to study God's Word and understand that I need him every moment, how can I ever teach anyone else to do the same?
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