Crazy Love Observations: Chapter 5

Read the book like you’ve never read it before. That was Francis’ challenge to himself (and to us) in chapter 5 of Crazy Love. And I like it.

I routinely try to do that in my own Bible study times, especially when I’m reading a familiar or well-known passage, and it’s amazing what I’ll sometimes see when I read it without the lens of past sermons or common interpretations. As in Francis’ case, sometimes I’ll see that I’ve missed the point of the message. And I think that’s the essence of this entire book—without meaning to, we’ve missed the point and we’ve often replaced true devotion to Christ with dutiful, religious service. And the crazy thing about this is that religion apart from relationship is always death (Paul makes this abundantly clear in the book of Romans).

My fear as we read this book together is that we might slip into the trap of psyching ourselves up to try and do more, and thus prove that we’re true Christians—that is neither the point nor the goal of this reading program. Our aim is not to do more spiritual activities, or even to become more conscientious about hurting people around us—it is to encounter God in new and fresh ways, trusting that the devotion that springs from that encounter will spur us on to the appropriate works. As our guest speaker said last Sunday, we don’t “grunt out” good works, we cling to Jesus and allow His life to overflow into every arena of our lives.

I love Francis’ definition of a true Christian as being one who “perpetually moves toward Christ.” I think a good reflection question from this chapter would be, “Is there any Christ-movement in our lives—are we moving closer to Jesus or are we static?”

One of the best gauges to help us know whether we’re moving closer to Him or not is to measure the “love content” in our hearts, and ask if we’re growing in our love for God and people (by the way, it’s nearly impossible to grow in love for people without first growing in love for God—remember, the first great commandment to “love God” precedes the second to “love our neighbor”).

In case anyone is baffled with this idea of how to love God more, let me use a quote from a song from the 1950s: “to know Him is to love Him.” It’s impossible to know God and not love Him, and it’s impossible to know Him more and not love Him more. So if you’re struggling in your love for God, tell that to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you in new and fresh ways so you can know Him more. He’ll meet you! And when He does, your love will naturally increase. And then “serving leftovers to a holy God” will be a non-issue.

On a personal note, Amber and Maddie just boarded a plane for Spokane, Washington, to spend time with their grandparents and go on their annual camping trip. J Jess and I will go pick them up in a couple of weeks, and while we’re there I’ll have the chance to preach at the church where I grew up in Newport, Washington. Pray for me!

I love you all—and I’m praying for YOU!

Chris