Crazy Love
I have just finished a great little book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It is burning a hole in my heart! It examines why Christians for the most part are not living out the biblical mandate in John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” Jesus spoke these words as He was preparing His disciples for His death. This part of John is known as the “farewell discourse”. So basically, Jesus said to love one another like I have loved you and then He left! Important farewell words for sure.
In order to have this crazy love for people, we must be thoroughly convinced that we are loved like crazy ourselves. God, the creator of the universe, loves us so much that He sent His love down to earth in the form of Christ. John 1:18 says that Christ is the “exegete” or the explanation of God. If you want to know what God is like, look to His Son because He explains the crazy love of God for us. John 3:16 still says it best!
So what does loving others as Christ has loved me look like? When I look at examples of how Christ loved others in the gospels, I see that I am falling way short of this biblical mandate. Christ had compassion on hungry people and interacted with people we would try to avoid at all costs (lepers, the lame, sinners). When Christ entered a city, He didn’t seek out the rich or the popular. He would go to where He knew people would need a touch from Him. He sought opportunities to serve people, like when He washed the disciples feet
My life stands in stark contrast to this. When I get up each morning, I am thinking about what I am going to wear to work and what kind of Jack’s biscuit I might like to swing by and pick up. I am not thinking about how I can help clothe and feed someone else. When I go to church, who am I seeking out for fellowship? I usually seek out my buddies rather than someone who may truly need a touch of encouragement or some sweet widow that is desperately lonely.
Think about how radically different our lives would be if we could practice what we label as “crazy love” for people. It is not “crazy’ according to Christ, it is His expectation. “But it is so HARD” I hear you scream! “Some people are just not lovable.” Well, guess what friends, none of us were “lovable” when you get right down to it. Paul charged in Romans 3:9 that we are all guilty. Here is the thing – God demonstrated His love to us WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS (Romans 5:8). It was an act of His will to demonstrate love. It will be the same with us. It will take an intentional, willful act for us to demonstrate Christ’s love to others. It will take Christ placing His love in us so it can be poured out to others in acts of “Crazy Love”! I double-dog dare you to try it!
Here is more info on the book: http://www.crazylovebook.com/
