Crazy Love

Francis Chan is the author of Crazy Love. He is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. I recently had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Orange Conference (which I still need to blog about) and after the message, I made sure that I picked up the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and there are aspects of the book that will challenge you greatly. If you want to read a great chapter on Lukewarm Christianity and plenty of Scripture to chew on, pick up this book and read chapter 4. I would almost say that the chapter is worth the price of the book.

I do want to warn you though. This book will challenge you to show the love that Christ wants you to show and will challenge you to live the life that he believes we are suppose to live as a church - you will be challenged and you will be convicted.

Here is one "breakdown" in the book that I chewed on for awhile:

Philippians 4:4-6
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Thoughts From Francis

When i am consumed by my problems - stressed out about my life, my family, my job - I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than god's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

As I mentioned, chapter 4 on Lukewarm Christianity is an excellent chapter. I could pull out most of the scripture and his thoughts and chew on it for awhile. however, I will give you a glimpse of one of his "lukewarm analogies".

Lukewarm People do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexpected happens - they have their savings account. They don't need God to help them - they have their retirement plan in place. They don't genuinely seek out what life God would have them live - they have life figured and mapped out. They don't depend on God on a daily basis - their refrigerators are full and for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is that their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God (pg. 76)

Life Change ??

How would my life (your life) change if I (you) actually thought of each person I (you) came into contact with as Christ.

I think that we look at Matt. 25 and see it has a great story. But, I don't think that we truly live our lives (me included) as everyone we are in contact with is Christ and that is what we should be doing. Christ is connecting the two commandments together ( love God / love others ). By loving the least of these, we are loving God himself.

Another chapter (to me) that is absolutely amazing his the chapter he does on obsession. He talks about the lives of people who are "obsessed" with Jesus. Here is one of the many great statements:

People who are obsessed with Jesus aren't consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God's kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress. (pg. 131)

The book is fantastic, secure yourself a copy. Take a look at their church community and see how they are living it out. Be encouraged, you can make a difference. Live out crazy love. But, if you do, be prepared. People are going to think that you have lost your mind.