Crazy Love Observations: Chapter 3

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! Jess, the girls, and I had the chance to go to Huntington Beach the other day and I’m happy to announce that we former Coloradoans (is that a word?) are officially body-surfers. Never mind the fact that we were only in water up to our knees and the waves were all but spent by the time they reached us—we still had a blast conquering the surf!

Well, we’re in the third chapter of Crazy Love, and as he does all throughout the book, Francis Chan touches on a profound issue: our understanding and view of God. Our view of God is, without question, the most influential force in our lives. If we view Him as He really is, we will love and trust Him, and have the ability to smile at the future. Unfortunately, life’s ups and downs can sometimes damage and skew our perspective of Him, and if we’re not careful we can adopt a view of God that is wholly unlike who He really is.

Don’t you hate it when people do that to you? Isn’t it frustrating and hurtful to find out that you’ve been misrepresented in a given situation and that people drew unfair or inaccurate conclusions about you? Whenever that happens don’t you immediately want the chance to clear your name and correct the misunderstanding?

God deserves that chance, too!

A few weeks ago, I gave you a list of questions to process with the Lord, and the first one was, “What is your view of God?” I had shared with you how fortunate I am to have parents who raised me in such a way that my view of God is one of Him walking toward me. But what if you had authority figures that painted a picture of an angry God, or of an aloof, distant God who walks away when it counts? PLEASE give God the chance to shatter that faulty view of Him. Take that mental picture and get alone with Him and give Him the chance to respond to it and to do some surgery on your soul.

Knowing God’s love is the most healing, profound experience available to humanity, and He wants you to have it. Most of us can intellectually assent that, yes, God does love us; however, He wants that knowledge to drop down from our head into our heart where it can actually change us.

Here are some parting questions for us to ponder: What is our view of God? Where and how did that view develop? Is it an accurate, worthy view? If it’s not, how do we change it? And finally, how can we treat others in a way that reinforces an accurate view of God’s love for them?

I love you all very much! See you this weekend!

Chris