Being a witness in the world

The following are excerpts from my devotional readings this morning. While reading them and trying to discern how to apply them to my life, I was struck with the thought that I needed to post them to my blog. Sometimes God puts ideas in my head that seem a little crazy to me, but I try to comply and follow-through, so here goes:

From the devotional My Heart-Christ's Home Through the Year...
"Jesus' disciples will need to look more saved if I am to believe in their Savior", says Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher. The world is looking for followers of Christ who look like Jesus. The world looks at believers not only for right belief but also for a distinctive Christlike lifestyle, a faith expressed through action. They are saying, "Show me your faith by the way you live and serve in this hurting world." Service exemplifies the way Christianity is supposed to be lived. Believers who visibly and actively serve present Jesus to a watching world.

From the book More Than Conquerors, A Call to Radical Discipleship by Simon Guillebaud...
What happened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianity that turned the world upside down? What happened to the smashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was considered by those in power to be dangerous? -What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear, who spoke the truth no matter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who were willing to follow Jesus wherever he went? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?

I want to play my part in turning the world upside down; I want to be fearless, bold, uncompromising and passionate in reaching out to the lost on behalf of the King of Kings; I never want to get over the grace of God; I want to be prepared to follow Jesus wherever he went; and I invite you to join me in this pursuit. As C.T. Studd declared, "If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him." So may the God of grace help you and me to rediscover this dangerous, revolutionary, earth-transforming message, and translate it into our daily living.

So, do with that what you will. It made a pretty big impact on my devotional time and I'm still "chewing" on it and rolling it around in my head... What would the world look like if Christians were like these two passages? Incredible thought...