Howard was radical. 

Although we both worked at the same factory, I didn’t meet Howard until about 1996. But I knew him by his reputation—getting drunk and closing down the local bar, trying to drive home in the middle of the night, riding off the road into the ditch, passing out and waking there the next morning. That was Howard. At least, that was what everyone said about him.

The way Howard met Christ was pretty radical as well. He and his 18-year-old son were in Sturgis, South Dakota, for a biker rally. As they were walking up the street, a man stopped them and handed them a Bible. He asked if he could tell them about Christ, but Howard replied, “Not right now, I’m here to teach my son how to drink.” The man replied, “Alcohol will last a little while, but Christ in your life will last forever.” 

Howard and his son continued up the street to the rally. When they got home, Howard placed the Bible on the end table next to his favorite chair. Every now and then he noticed the Bible and thought, “I ought to check this out.” But he didn’t open it until one fateful day six months later and began to read. He read through it twice, meeting Christ in the process.

When I met Howard years later, he was serving as the President of the local Christian Motorcycle Association, and he was telling anyone who would listen about Jesus. Completely changed, Howard was radical for Christ. Howard was now as radical for Christ as he had been for the secular world. Gone was the old reputation. No more getting drunk. No more passing out in the ditch. He was a new man in Christ.

Another man who was radical for Christ was King David. As a young man, David faced an even greater challenge—a giant from the enemy army who stood nearly 10 feet tall. 

Every day the giant, Goliath, taunted the Israelite people, challenging them to fight him. When David dared to go against him, Goliath mocked and cursed him. But David said, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” David ran to meet Goliath and used a stone and a sling to strike him in the forehead. The giant stumbled and fell, dead. 

God is searching for the Howards and the Davids of our time. People who will run toward the battle, not away. People of courage. Men and women who will be radical for Christ. 

Will you be one of them? Are you one of them? God needs men and women who will stand on the front line, speak the truth and be just as radical for God’s Kingdom as they were in the world. God needs you.

Read more like this