Barbarian.

noun. A person not belonging to civilization.

So a barbarian is basically someone who is uncivilized.  What would you say if I told you that following Christ in its essence is Barbaric? Its raw and untamed.

"Wait, hold up a second. Are you trying to tell me being Christian isn't endless comfort, rich provisions and abundant blessings?"

Well yeah,  I am. Jesus never said it would be a life of lollipops and rainbows. He pretty much said the opposite.

I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. 

Matthew 10:16

Barbaric. Dangerous. The call to follow. The call to go where he sends.

"But if I have faith I will see miracles,  blessings and victories all of my days! Hebrews 11!"

Yeah, it's a great chapter. But read it again.

Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 

Hebrews 11:36-38

Come on people! We arent called to be civilized and living in comfort, we are called to follow! Heck, even the promised land was amid giants. Not to mention Christ, the one we are called to follow and imitate, died brutally on a cross.

The life of someone following Christ isnt a life without risk. Its a life of being the light in the dark, the sheep amid wolves. If you truly choose to live this way, you are making an insane decision. Living your life for the sake of others no matter what the personal cost. Embracing his invitation to take up your own cross and follow.

Are you ready to be a Babarian?

If you dare allow God to unlock your primal spirit, He will unleash raw and untamed faith within.

Erwin Rapheal McManus